


Digimon Revenge

by Katz_Swirl



Category: Digimon - All Media Types
Genre: Adventure, Angst, Blood and Injury, Bullying, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Suicidal Thoughts, Temporary Amnesia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:41:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 20
Words: 47,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27799423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katz_Swirl/pseuds/Katz_Swirl
Summary: In the Digital World, a system of superiority and inferiority has been in place since the beginning, dividing the weak and strong Digimon apart. The only reason for this division is due to the gain of power from the attainment of Digivolution, leading to the mistreatment and suffering for the weaker ones. However, the unexpected arrival of three scientists had managed to flip this system around, as their research in this renowned Digivolution accidentally exposed a single fact."Humans are the catalysts for Digivolution. We are a replenishable resource for them, able to provide much energy for this process of evolution and help them attain it."This led to the weaker Digimon eventually coming up with a mischievous plan. To kidnap human children and sap their energy to allow them to digivolve into stronger forms. This was a very threatening attack on the system, and the Digimon themselves. But to those who were bullied, tortured and even killed, it was sweet revenge.A story of vengeance, following an amnesiac, a disciplined child and a gang leader through their dangerous adventures in the Digital World. Truths to be found, backstories to be uncovered, and most importantly... Revenge to be served cold.





	1. Prologue

_Prologue_

The Digital World is home to creatures of different species. We're known as Digimon! As creatures who are born from data, we're able to grow into strong forms by either absorbing this data from the surroundings or forcefully steal it from other Digimon. Absorbing takes way too long, so many of us decide to fight each other for the data, in hopes of achieving Digivolution.

If only a few of us did it, then it wouldn't be such a bother. But, the thing is, everyone is a power-hungry, wanting to grow faster and become more powerful than others. Before we knew it, the Digital World had been split up, peaceful times being a thing of the past. The stronger Digimon had managed to digivolve into the Mega Stages. Each Mega Digimon had taken territory of the Digital World, claiming it as their own and even having their own team of generals or whatever. 

They were known as the 'Digimon Sovereigns' and, there were 5 of them. But, I couldn't care any lesser about who they are or what they do. I just know that they take different sections of the world as their territory. 

Even with their 'rule', the conflicts never stopped. They were just hidden from them, and the 'sovereigns' didn't bother helping any of us, not even the gentle Ebonwumon. We just kept getting bullied and thrown around.

There was a time when I had ventured into an unknown world, along with 5 others, but I could never recall it. The only thing that still kept me tied to that experience was this weird feeling of connection. However, that wasn't the most unusual thing to ever happen in my life. 

It was when those three scientists stepped foot into the Digital World. They were known as... uhh... 'hoomans'? Ah, humans! When I first met them, they had already gotten involved in a fight with Tuskmon, especially the rounded-guy named Trev. At first, I didn't want anything to do with them since a Biyomon was already helping the poor guy, but what I saw changed my mind. 

My eyes beheld the light of Digivolution cast down on the Biyomon, who had flown in between Trev and Tuskmon. And just like that, Birdramon took flight and swept away Tuskmon with a Meteor Wing attack, saving the scientists. Then, in another instant, Birdramon de-digivolved back to an exhausted Piyomon.

It was unlike anything I saw. 

How could a rookie Digimon like Biyomon suddenly digivolve to Birdramon, then return back to its rookie form? Then, a thought struck me. This had only occurred when the scientists were involved, so it must have meant that they had something to do with the Digivolutions. I could take it a step further and even think that they had a reason for this weird connection too.

I wanted the secrets for myself. However, I wasn't the only witness that day.

Ever since I came into contact with them, I've been through a lot of intriguing yet painful experiments, one of which messed around with my personality data. There were also other In-training Digimon who met with them too, and they got subjected to the same experiments. Despite all the pain we went through, that was probably my first time actually having fun interacting with other Digimon and humans.

They were cherishable friends to me then. But, those happy moments didn't last. 

In a split moment, my life was turned around again. Other aggressive Digimon came after the scientists, demanding they handed over the secrets to the Digivolution. Some even went so far as to kill.

And all of that leads to now, where I'm sitting by the computer, along with my two buddies. The place where we were watching them get killed right in front of our eyes. 

The place where I swore to myself, right here and now, that I would take my revenge against the Digimon and this fucked-up world. 


	2. Keita the Amnesiac

"I'm sorry, ma'am."  
"What do you mean? What's wrong?"  
"Your son... He's suffered a severe blow to his head. After going through the evaluation test, it's been revealed that Keita is suffering from Retrograde Amnesia. He doesn't seem to remember you, his sister, his friends or even himself. All his past memories seem to have vanished from his mind. Keita will... not be the same."

I remember this. The day after my mother rushed me to the hospital and had the doctors admitted me in a room. I remember being asked several questions regarding my life, my family and myself by the doctor, who was noting everything down. Every time I answered a question, my supposed mother became more and more anxious and tightened her grip further on the table. 

After I answered it all, the doctors gave me confirmation and urged me to leave the room. I didn't question their actions, doing what they said. As I went outside, I heard them talking about me. All of their dialogue was freshly implanted in my head, and I could never forget their words.

I will never be the same.

The ride home was still, tense and gloomy. I didn't-, no, couldn't speak at all in the car when we were heading back. My mother was muttering to herself how the apple in her eyes was gone, how she could never bring back the free-spirited child I once was and how life may never be the same. How can I bring myself to speak when she's talking as if I never existed?

My mother didn't support me, but she did. My little sister, named Kiyo, was 9 at that time. When we returned home that day, she immediately ran over to me with open arms and embraced me in a hug. At first, I was startled at her actions and was about to question her when the little girl tearfully said, "I'm so glad you're okay Keita! Mum said you had amnesia, and that you wouldn't remember me, but I don't care about that! I'm just happy to see that you're okay."

Kiyo knew about my condition, but unlike my mother, she took pains to support me, even though she was a young, petite girl. Each day, she would guide me around the house, point out the different food that would be served and bring me out to places. I was heavily dependent on her guidance, so she never left my side ever. In light of her actions, my mother stopped ignoring me and began to treat me as her son again. 

Even though I couldn't remember them before, they've slowly grown to become my family once again, and I loved them dearly for it. They've made life more comfortable for me to live in. 

However, fate had a worse event installed for me. 

* * *

"Roselia, why do you still love me?"  
"Why are you suddenly asking that?"  
"It's just that... You've done so much for me for the past months, but I've done nothing in return. I can't even remember any of our past experiences, Roselia! I just don't understand why you would want to be with me when-"  
Roselia cuts him off by kissing him directly on the lips. The man's eyes widen as she releases him, smirking.

"Silly, amnesia is not going to get in the way of our 4 years of love. Even if your past memories are lost, we can still make new, better ones together. I'll never, ever stop loving you, Dan. Never."

And the two of them proceed to kiss once more. The scene fades to white and, words start moving down from the top of the television. I'm sure these are called credits, its purpose being to show acknowledgement to those who participated in the film. I lay on the sofa, watching all the words fall to the bottom of the television and a big white title named, 'Forgotten Love' appearing in the middle. 

"Brother!" Kiyo calls me, settling in the sofa beside me. "What are you watching?"  
"Nothing much. Just some love drama named, 'Forgotten Love." I answer, switching the channels on television.  
"Love drama? Did it involve a lot of-"  
"A lot of kissing, yes."

My little sister covers her mouth, disgusted at the thought of two people kissing each other lips-to-lips. I chuckle at her reaction, stopping at a channel on television.

"And we now bring you the news. Hundreds of reports about missing children have been steadily rising around the world. These cases are now being set under Interpol, who are reviewing them all together. Until now, nothing has been revealed about the culprit or the plural form, other than speculation from the public. Some say that they have seen other-worldly creatures appear in the homes of the missing children, swiftly abduct them, and disappear without a trace. However, investigations provided no evidence to support their claims, whatsoever. As always, this is Channel 195, providing you daily updates of world events." 

It appears I have stopped at a news channel. The two of us had been listening attentively about the abductions from the woman on the screen. As she updates, I can feel Kiyo's hands tense on my arm more and more, though I'm not sure if it's out of fear for herself, me or both of us. Even I'm getting increasingly anxious about the abductions. This isn't the first time I've heard about it either since the cases started popping up from our country first. 

Ever since then, Kiyo's brought me out more and more so that we would avoid being abducted at home. These cases did revolve around culprits breaking into the homes and kidnapping them at home, rather than outside. A very uncanny and effective method of abduction. 

"Let's go eat l-lunch, Keita." I can sense the jitter in her voice when she spoke. I comply with Kiyo and follow her to the kitchen, where our mother sets the dishes onto the table. They were white rice with chicken curry and a side dish of long beans. The most delicious food I've ever had. 

"You two are rather early! Usually, I would have to call you two to get you guys for lunch. What's with the sudden change?" Our mother says as she set the utensils for the table. Kiyo didn't seem like she could answer, judging from the fact that she's hiding behind me and still holding my arm.

"We got hungry earlier." I simply say. It's not the absolute truth, but it isn't a lie either. Our mother seems to accept my simple reason as she sets the last of the utensils of the table. "Okay then, come fill up your bellies! I made sure to cook your favourite today, Keita." 

* * *

I return to my room and fall on my bed, rolling around on it and screeching. Earlier after lunch, our mother told us that she would head out for a meeting with her friends and would only be back till late at night. Usually, I would have just nodded my head and be on my way. But, for some reason, I just blurted out, "Oh, you have friends, Mum?".

In that split moment, I felt the eyes of my mother and sister pierce into my soul and heat started rising to my face. I was about to apologise for my actions when my mother suddenly hugged me. 

No words accompanied by her actions.   
Just a simple embrace.

I've been scratching my head over why she didn't scold me for my word and hugged me. Recounting that moment keeps making my face hot and causes me to screech for some odd reason.

Is this shame?

Fortunately, my screaming is interrupted by small knocks on my door. "Come in." Kiyo strolls in with an apparent uneasy face. I immediately sit-up on my bed. "What's wrong?" Even though I asked, I knew the reason why. She must be worried about the recent cases of kidnapping.

Kiyo fidgets with her fingers. "W-Well... I'm a bit scared about the reports... What if the criminal targets our house while Mum isn't around? What if we disappear like the children on television? We wouldn't be able to see Mum ever again and-" At this point, tears start to stream down her cheeks and, her words get cut-off. Getting up from the bed, I pull her towards my body, just like how our mother would. 

"They won't, Kiyo. I won't let them come and get you. They would have to get through me first!" The words coming out of my mouth didn't feel like I am saying it. They felt foreign yet familiar. As if another individual is speaking through my body, but that individual is still me. It's so hard to place it in words! It's the exact same feeling I had in the kitchen!

"Thanks, brother..." Kiyo smiles with red-eyes, wiping the tears away from my face. Well, if it makes my sister feel better, then I wouldn't mind it. "Do you want to stay here? Until Mum comes home." I suggest. She nods her head eagerly. 

In only a few minutes, Kiyo has successfully dominated my whole bed and sleeps peacefully after kicking me to the ground. I now lay on the cold ground, looking up at the dim ceiling light. "May as well use the computer since I can't sleep," I speak to no in particular as I get up. The computer lays on a wooden table, adjacent to the bed. I've never really used it, but my sister said that I used to be on the computer most of the time and play games all day.

Hearing that made me think I was an addictive user. 

I sat down on the black, wheeled chair and switch on the PC. A low computerised sound whirrs as the monitor lights up, showing the logo of the computer on the screen along with the loading bar. It takes almost a whole chunk of my life as it finally brings me to the user screen. I click on my name in the user login page and, another bar pops up, asking me for my password. 

What's the password again?

"I don't remember!" I internally shout, slamming my head onto the table. Damn it, why does this even have a password? I'm the only one who's going to use it. Maybe I had it written somewhere. 

Shuffling through the note pads on the table, I look through each page of them. All that was inside were horrible drawings of teachers, wrong answers to questions and word conversations between two people. Not a single one of them helped me in getting the password. I was just about done with all of my notebooks when my eyes catch the last one.

A small, red notebook with illustrations of cats in the front.

Without any hesitation, I grab that book and flip through it. In the middle of the pages, I catch a scribble stating, 'Password's my name! :D'. Oh, how dumb was I?

I immediately punch in my name on the keyboard and click enter next to the bar. It goes into another loading process, which takes another chunk of my whole life with it. After a while, the monitor loads fully and displays the interface screen. 

Finally, now I get to explore the internet-

The monitor shuts off.

"What the heck?!" I shout, banging my hands onto the table. "Mmm..." Kiyo mumbles, to which I quickly go silent. Thankfully, she didn't wake up so, I continue my raging spree. After stealing two chunks of my life, this computer dares to shut off on me?! I try the power button on the PC, but it doesn't turn back on. My anger switches to confusion as I try to turn the computer back on. 

Nothing works.

"Did my computer break?" I really didn't know the reason behind its sudden shut-off. Nothing I do seems to bring it back to life, so I have to assume it's broken. I'll have to tell Mum about it when she gets back home.

As I turn the wheeled chair around, a bright white light flashes from my monitor! It isn't like the usual dim light the monitor produces at all, more like a spotlight shining at me. I turn around, covering my eyes with my arm and landing myself in darkness.

A moment later, the light fades away and, I could lower my arm from my face. The monitor remains black once again, not showing any evidence that it produced light as brilliant as the Sun. What was that about?   
I was about to reach out for the monitor when an unknown voice suddenly calls out, 

"Hey, partner!"


	3. Digimon? Pagumon?

I stare at the creature with my red, sharp eyes.

The creature watches back at me with its red, slanted eyes.

Never have I ever, most positively in my life, seen a creature with such a bizarre appearance in the areas Kiyo has shown me. It doesn't display any relation with the creatures I've ever observed. I mean, what kind of animal would a purple oval with wings-like ear protrusions and red eyes be? Adding on to the fact that it can also talk, it's showing zero similarity to anything right now.

"What did you just call me?" I say as my hand stretches out for the pencil beside me.

"Partner! Are your ears full of wax or something?" It replies rather snarkily.

I feel my fingers rub the smooth surface of the pencil and intertwine them around the sharp object.

"No no, I heard you the first time. Now..." My voice goes low. Immediately, I pull the pencil out of its container and point it at the creature's head, startling it.

"Whoa whoa! There's no need for violence-"

"Tell me your name, where you came from and your purpose here before consequences happen." I smoothly steal the lines from a cop movie I once watched. They prove to be useful as the creature breaks in a cold sweat in front of me.

"Geez, I don't remember humans being this aggressive... I am a Pagumon, a dark Digimon who came from the Digital World. I only came here in order to search for my human partner, which is you." It flaps its ear protrusions wildly side-by-side as it speaks. My pencil edges closer to it.

"Another question. What is a Digimon and how did you get here?" If this creature is from another world, then it's showing connections to one other thing.

The abductors.

But, it doesn't seem like it's capable of kidnapping or carrying out what the people said they do. The fact that it's talking and joking with me instead of doing its supposed job is also something I can't ignore. Nevertheless, I can't be too complacent with this unknown creature.

I'm not letting my guard down like those people in horror movies.

"What is this, an interrogation session? Digimon just stands for Digital Monsters! And I got here through your computer, which you had unlocked earlier! So, bring that pencil away from my face, because it's about to poke my eyes out!"

Well, it doesn't seem to be lying, seeing that its reasoning is so silly to the point that it's believable. Maybe this creature-, Digimon, isn't so dangerous. For a very odd feeling, I feel like I can trust this Digimon, one I'm sure I have never met before, and its words.

Satisfied with its explanation, I put the pencil back into its container.

* * *

Some time has passed since this Pagumon dropped in from my computer. He was quite willing to answer any question I had, so I didn't see him as a threat or something that I'd chase out. It talked about how he was sent here by two scientists in the search for their human partners, who would be able to bond with them and assist them in reaching the next stage. This act was called Digivolution. The reasoning behind Pagumon choosing me was apparently due to his senses bringing him here, to which I'm still sceptical about.

It was quite intriguing to hear the Digimon talk about otherworldly topics, things I would only hear from the television. Throughout this whole process, Kiyo was still sleeping soundly on my bed, despite being a light sleeper. Maybe thinking about the cases tired her mind out?

Oh!

"Hey, Pagumon. Do you know about any Digimon coming into the human world to abduct children?" I blatantly ask. Pagumon gives me a confused look, his eyes trained on mine. "Other than two others, I don't know anything else."

It doesn't add up. Three Digimon can't be responsible for wide abductions occurring all around the world, especially when they could be as tiny as Pagumon. I doubt this little oval would be able to do anything-

"Hey!" He angrily shouts out all of a sudden, causing me to jolt up on my seat.

"W-What?"

"I know what you're thinking. You think that I'm too small and weak to do anything, right?!"

"You can do one thing, and that's reading my mind."

I chuckle when a shade of red surfaces on Pagumon's purple face as he flaps his ear protrusions bitterly. "Move aside. I'll show you what I'm capable of!" I comply with the Digimon's words, standing next to the table.

Moving to position, Pagumon takes in a deep breath, eyes closing. It seems like it's focusing on its move.

"Frothy Spit!" He says out his move, spitting out a cone of purple-coloured bubbles in rapid speed. They fly towards the wall and burst upon contact, spilling an acid-like liquid onto the ground, which sizzles on the floor.

I blink my eyes rapidly at Pagumon, who looks at me with a broad smirk.

"That was... so awesome! Do it again!"

"Sure! Frothy Spit!"

He spits out another cone of purple-coloured bubbles, hitting the wall and the floor on the same mark. The liquid sizzles for a bit longer... And melts a hole through the floor! Excitement turns to panic in an instant as I look at the smirking Digimon once more.

"P-Pagumon! You've created a hole on the ground!" I point to the glaring hole on my plank flooring.

"Yeah, so?"

"So?! That hole is dangerous enough to cause me to drop, break my legs and send me off to the hospital again!"

"Huh?" He gives me a perplexed look, not knowing what he did.

"I will fall in there, Pagumon!"

"Just avoid it."

"I can mistakingly fall in- Oh, nevermind. I'll just cover it with a rug." With that, I head out of the room to fetch a rug, Pagumon hopping behind me.

The little Digimon catches up to me, just hopping beside my feet. "Where are we going?" He asks before panting.

"Someplace where we can find a rug. Do you want to ride on my shoulder?" I offer the little Digimon, who looks like he's about to fall over at any moment.

He nods his head.

As I pick up the little Digimon, he feels quite smooth in my hands. He can slip out of my grip if he chooses to! I place him on my shoulder where he, surprisingly, doesn't slide off.

"Much better... I can see a better view of this place from up here!"

* * *

"Partner, are you sure you know where you're going? I think we've been to the bathroom twice already." Pagumon questions as we walk around the house.

"To be frank, I don't." I simply answer, stopping in my tracks. I found the rug I needed from the kitchen, but I have close to little idea on how to go back. I was only able to return to my room because of Kiyo's guidance, but now she's sleeping in my room. Right now, I'm standing on the steps to the second floor of the house, pondering over how I can go back to my room.

"Are humans this forgetful?"

"No, just me. I still can't remember the way back to my room fully..."

"Geez, follow me, partner. I know the way back!' Pagumon says and jumps off my shoulder, leaving me flabbergasted. If he knew the way, then why didn't he say anything for the past 15 minutes? Did he like seeing me carry my weight around the house?!

"Partner! Are you there? I'm going to leave you behind!" He shouts from the top of the staircase, snapping me out of thought. "Coming, coming..."

I'm coming to make you spill the beans.

Pagumon hops straight from the staircase, through the suspending, wooden hallway and passing by the three rooms we went through earlier. My footsteps echo behind his hopping, making the silence known to me. It's been some time since it was this silent in the household. Maybe it's because my sister is asleep and Pagumon and I aren't arguing.

"Your room was at the end of the hallway!" The little oval Digimon disturbs the silence once more with his shouting, hopping in front of the room. "Shh! Do you want to wake my sister up?!"

"Wait... There's another human here?!" I can see the purple fade away from the Digimon's body, replacing it with pale white. He immediately hops behind me and hides behind my legs, visibly shivering.

"What's wrong? Are you not okay with other humans-"

"Keita! Where are you?!" My sister's voice rings out from my room, along with footsteps heading straight to the door. It opens, and my sister comes trotting out while yawning.

"H-Hey, Kiyo," I call, grabbing her attention. Kiyo snaps towards me, a small smile dawning on her face as she yawns. "There you are! I was wondering where you went-... What's with the rug?"

Both of us look at the out-of-place rug hanging over my arm, waving about. Ah right, I forgot about the existence of this thing. I don't think telling its real reason would be a safe idea, especially with how shaken up Pagumon is. It's going to land the both of them into a whole whirlwind of trouble and confusion if I expose his identity here.

"Uh, well... This rug here is supposed to prevent... falling?" My head racks up random reasoning on the spot, trying to think of ways to build it up. "Because... the floors are quite slippery for me." I tried to sound as convincing as possible to make up for the nervous pauses and words. Fortunately for me, my little sister eats up the reason I gave with no hint of suspicion.

"Oh, okay. Thanks for letting me sleep in your bed, brother!" She cheerily says, walking towards me. I guess her room is before mine. As I walk past her, she whispers a few words.

"And thanks for the comfort..."

* * *

A few minutes after my exchange with Kiyo, I had arranged the rug neatly on the planking with the hole in it. At a second glance, the hole didn't seem big enough for me to mistakingly fall in but I had to cover it up since I didn't want anyone to discover it and question me.

Also, Pagumon returned to my room after disappearing on me when I was talking to my sister. He isn't shivering anymore, but he still looks freaked out. I wonder what happened to him?

"Pagumon, are you feeling better?" I ask the little Digimon, who's sitting on top of my computer desk. He gives me a nod, saying, "Yeah, just not so comfortable with humans yet, hehe..." Pagumon chuckles at the end.

"You were fine with me, though."

"That's different! You're my partner, so of course, I would trust you more! It feels more comforting to be with you than with other unknown humans..."

I can feel a soft feeling emerge inside me when he said that. It's the same feeling I had when Kiyo accepted me all those months ago. Whatever it is, it's making me smile wide and melting my heart from the inside. How can a creature from another world make me feel this way? How can Pagumon even say all of that with such sincerity in them, despite a short meeting? These questions can't be answered with logic or words, but only with feelings.

"I guess you aren't such a foul-mouth after all." I smile at the Digimon, who gives a glare for my words. "Hey! I'm not a foul-mouth!"

Finally, I managed to make a new friend!


	4. Impending Danger

"Don't go... Don't leave us again!" A boy, nothing but a shadow figure, cries out in a strangled and weak voice. Tears flow from his eyes in the same motion as the blood dripping down from his wounded head. He lays against the bookcase, books surrounding his slanted body.

Who is he? What am I dreaming about?

He stretches out his quivering arm towards my direction, but I know he's not pointing to me. Glancing in his direction, I see another shadowy figure as well, dressed in white and wearing a thin, black glasses. A mouth appears, and he starts to speak silent words. At least, I couldn't hear them.

"Why...?" The despair-filled boy says faintly, shaking his head in denial. He could hear them all. Every line that man speaks rings sound in the boy's ears, bringing emotion and tears to him. However, exhaustion catches up quickly and locks his cries away, his arms and body limply falling to the ground without a sound. As his eyes close, the world pales to black, leaving me to stare in this empty world with confusion and wonder.

* * *

"Urgh..." I groan, slowly opening my eyes. To my surprise, it's still the wake of night, darkness shrouding my room in its hold, while the dim moonlight peeks out from the windowpane. The whirring of the ceiling fan and Pagumon's snoring destroys the few seconds of silence in this room, bringing my senses back to reality.

Right, I'm not dreaming anymore.

What was it all about, anyway? I couldn't make a lick of sense of what was going on or who those people were. Yet, there's something within me that's resonating familiarity towards them.

An unexplainable feeling.

Sigh, I shouldn't think too deep into it. Kiyo did tell me that dreams always show you random things and bring you into random adventures, so I shouldn't be dwelling on it. Besides, my head is already filled with thoughts about the abductors, the former me and Pagumon's existence. Adding in the dream is going to burst it open.

"May as well write the day in the diary," I say to no one in particular. "since I'm not going back to sleep."

Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I get off my bed and move to the table, minding the rug covering the hole. Pagumon dozes soundly on the computer table, his whole body slowly rising up and down. Does he not feel awkward sleeping like that? Well, if he's sleeping this peacefully on this chilly table, then he shouldn't be waking up anytime soon. I slide the drawer under the table towards me and pick out a red, thick book with a pen strapped to its side.

The front cover shows another illustration of cats playing with a ball and circling around each other. I've noticed there are a lot of cats and red around my room lately. This book, in particular, is the one which leads me from coincidence to fact.

_"Here you go, Keita." My mother hands me a thick book with a purple pen wrapped in the front. I tilt my head._

_"What is this, Mum? A storybook?"_

_"No, it's a diary. Your doctor wanted to have you keep it, in case of another amnesia, so that you'll at least have something to keep track."_

_"Oh, thanks, Mum-" My sentence is cut-off by a whimper by my mother, who rubs her eyes._

_"Sorry, I just... Red and Purple were your favourite colours. Even the pen's ink is purple."_

_"... Thanks, Mum."_

I let the memory stream in and out of my head. Honestly, I had expected to be given a camera, just like that Danny guy from the drama. But, the diary is cool too, just that it's going to be superbly bulky.

I pull the pen out of its binder at the side. Then, I flip the cover of the book to the first page, where it's completely blank. I hadn't used it since that day, as I didn't know what to write. The thoughts never crossed me till now.

My hand moves on its own, writing and scribbling words on the blank page of the book. I lay the book on my lap, where the moonlight shines itself upon. Each sentence I write, I feel the memory of that event surface clearly on my mind.

_"A-Aah! What's t-that?!" I duck behind my sister, hiding from the hairy, brown creature in front of me._

_"Don't worry, it's just a monkey! He won't do anything to you."_

_"A-Are you sure? He looks like he's about to throw the banana peel at someone!"_

_"Yes-"_

_The banana peel splatters on Kiyo's face._

"Ahaha... Even the monkey was laughing with me when that happened." I smile to myself, continuing to write down the sentences.

"Partner? What are you doing here?" My eyes shoot up from the book and see the little Digimon awake, staring at me with a curious look. Ah, must have woken him up while I was talking to myself.

"Just writing some stuff in the book. Go back to sleep."

"What stuff?"

"Some memory entries so that I don't forget about it again. It's nothing to worry about, so go back to sleep."

"Okay, okay! Geez..."

Pagumon's ear protrusions wrap themselves around his eyes, and he goes back into his slumber. I continue writing in the diary, guilt eating away at me about how I treated him. I didn't mean to be so harsh at the little Digimon, but I felt irritated when he kept asking me questions instead of sleeping.

"Sigh... So much stuff to write about."

* * *

Throughout the night, I didn't get a wink of sleep. My hands ache from the constant writing I made them do. My eyes are as dry as the desert, having to stare at the book under the dim lighting. I've been staring at the open diary, which rests comfortably on my lap.

"Let me guess. You didn't sleep at all?" Pagumon asks, snapping me out of my trance. I raise my head.

"Yeah."

"What a hypocrite! Telling me to sleep when you didn't sleep!"

"What does hypocrite mean?"

"What it means...! It just means to do the opposite of what you tell people to do! Like, if you tell others to rest but don't rest yourself, that makes you a hypocrite. Understand?"

I nod my head. Oh, so that's what it means! It seems like a fun word to use in the future. Maybe I'll get my opportunity to call Kiyo or Mum that if they ever do so. Stifling a yawn, I close the book and pull the drawer from under the table. I place the bulky object, one I spent hours writing on, inside its resting spot and push it back in.

As soon as I get off my chair, the door to my room opens slowly. My little sister stands by the door, peeping into my room before fully opening it.

"I came to get you for breakfast! Mum isn't back yet, so I got us some bread." She informs, coming into my room. My eyes dart to the computer table. Pagumon isn't there anymore, most probably hiding out of sight.

"O-Oh, Mum's not back yet? The meeting must be lasting long." I say in a monotonic tone. My sister suspiciously raises her eyebrows at me.

"Did you not sleep?" She points out the exact fact. Do I really look that tired?

"Is it obvious?"

"Of course! Look at yourself in your own mirror!" She shows me to my wardrobe mirror, one that I don't really use often. Staring back at me, is an albino boy with pale skin, red eyes with dark circles surrounding them, white, unkempt hair and casual clothing. In the reflection, I can see Pagumon underneath the computer table, hiding behind my waste bin. Though, I only faintly catch him by his ears, since not much light goes under there.

"Come on, Keita. Let's go eat!" My sister pulls me from the mirror by my hand. As she did, I flick my wrist towards me, trying to signal the Digimon to follow me. I don't want him to be alone in my room and starve here.

Fortunately, he catches my message and hops behind me silently.

* * *

My sister leads me out into the hallway once again, humming a gentle, familiar tune. Thankfully, her hums mask the noise of Pagumon's hops, which sound like light thumps.

"Since Mum isn't here yet, what's for breakfast?" I ask. Mum would usually whip up eggs and chicken, along with toasted bread, for our breakfast. Needless to say, it's superbly delicious. If she's not in today, then it's up to my sister to make breakfast for us.

"There's still the wholemeal bread packets in the cupboards and, a bottle of strawberry jams, so we'll have bread and jam!" She answers cheerfully as always. Glad to see one of us is still living in the morning.

As we descend the stairs, I feel a small object land directly on my shoulder. My eyes shift to the side, only to see that it's Pagumon. However, he seems to pull a worried face on me.

"Partner, I think we have trouble." He whispers directly into my ear.

"Trouble? What is it?" I whisper back.

"I sense the presence of another Digimon here!"

"Another Digimon? Your friend or...?"

"Definitely not my friend! It's a-"

"Keita? Who are you talking to?" My sister suddenly cuts-in, causing Pagumon to fall backwards. I shift back my focus to Kiyo, who stops at the bottom of the staircase and gives me another sceptical look.

"Uh... well..." I struggle to think of any excuse in my head. So this is how people feel when they are expected to think up a reason on the spot. It's pressurising, forcing every brain cell to work together to bring about a reason for this simple question.

"I was talking to-"

Shattering noises of glass erupt in the house.

Kiyo and I instantly snap our heads towards the kitchen, where the noise originated from. There, we see a shadow, not belonging to a human, lay on the floor, just outside the kitchen.

A creature's shadow... Was this the Digimon Pagumon mentioned?

"Mum isn't home... Who is that inside the kitchen?" My sister says, holding onto the handrail of the staircase tightly. Fear and curiosity express themselves on her face as she glances towards me.

"I'll go check it out." If that really is a Digimon, then there's a high chance it's also one of the abductors. I'm still holding onto the possibility that the Digimon are responsible for the kidnappings, even if Pagumon isn't one of them. I won't let them endanger my sister or whisk her away from me!

I look to Kiyo for any signs of protest. Surprisingly, she only gives me a hopeful smile and says,

"I trust you, brother. Be safe, okay?"

I give her a simple nod and slowly sneak towards the kitchen, making sure the planks barely creak under my weight. Pagumon hops in front of my legs, trying to conceal himself from Kiyo's sight. Just ahead, the shadow of the Digimon glides around the flooring, indicating that it's shuffling around in the kitchen. I could also see coloured glass shards by the entrance of the kitchen, once belonging to the beautiful stained glass vase.

I stop at the entrance of the kitchen.

This is it. This is where I'll come face-to-face with the well-known children abductors, famed for slipping away from even Interpol. I'm about to confront them right here and now.

My hands shake. Am I really prepared for this? To risk my life fighting against an unknown creature? Of course not! I'm not even prepared for this-

"Partner, calm down! I'm right here with you!" The little Digimon's voice breaks through my thoughts as I look down at him.

That's right, Pagumon can sense the other Digimon's presence well. He knows what's coming at us, but he's still going against them. If a small Digimon like him is willing to stick by me and fight, then I should be too!

"Let's go, Pagumon." The two of us step into the kitchen, bringing the view of the whole room to us.

* * *

The kitchen was in chaos. Tables were shifted, chairs were toppled, utensils and plates were scattered around the room like used paper, dents covered the refrigerator and cupboards were wrenched open. But the one thing that catches my eye is the Digimon in front of us. A round-headed squid-like Digimon with antennae, several thin tentacles sprouted below from its yellow, spiked collar and, two large hands connected to its body by slim arms. When it faces us, I could see the enormous, crazed green eyes and black pupils it possesses and its broad, menacing grin.

"Let's play together, child!"


	5. Whisked Away

**_Warning: Mild blood scenes, violence and mentions of death will be present._ **

* * *

"Play? You broke into my kitchen, terrorised the whole place and smashed the glass vase so you could play with me?" All the earlier tension and fear dissipated in an instant, leaving me with confusion. I can't wrap my head around the abductor's intentions. He's like Pagumon in this sense, spewing out about being partners, when we first met.

"That's how Keramon thinks! He believes all the destruction he does is fun and games for him." Pagumon informs, sitting on top of my shoulder once more.

"Kehahaha! Play, play! Play with me, child!" The Digimon, now identified as Keramon, giggles and wiggles his hands about. Is this how most Digimon act, apart from Pagumon? He keeps on chanting his desire to play with me, almost like how a child would.

What would happen if I agree to it?

"Sure, let's play!" I answer, trying to sound as enthusiastic and accepting as Kiyo would. This is how one would answer, right? My ear gets pulled on by Pagumon, who shouts into it.

"What the heck are you saying?! Playing with Keramon is bad news-"

"Yay, yay! I have a playmate!"

The Digimon loops around in a small area, giggling and wriggling merrily. I cross my fingers behind, hoping that his game doesn't destroy this place any further. It's already in a terrible enough state and, I'm the one in charge of cleaning duty! I wouldn't want more work piling, on top of clearing this wreckage up.

"I thought of a game!" Keramon says, bringing our attention to him. "Let's play Tag! I'm IT, so if I catch you... You get to die! Kehahaha!"

"Oh, so that's how people play Tag." I have wondered about this game of Tag and how it's conducted for some time. Hm, but why would kids want to play a death game?

Pagumon pulls my ear once again.

"I swear to anyone up there, that's not how it's played! He's using this game as an excuse to kill you! K-I-L-L!"

"Hm hm... The Pagumon is annoying! Disqualified! Disqualified!"

Before my eyes could blink, a purple hand stretches out from the Keramon and flies towards us. It passes by my head, a light breeze caressing my face, and knocks Pagumon off my shoulder with force.

"Aggh!" His screaming finally registers the situation in my head as I turn behind.

"Pagumon!" The little Digimon bounces many times off the ground before stopping by the entrance. I couldn't react quick enough to Keramon's hand! How am I supposed to avoid this Digimon?!

"Let the game begin!"

I have no hope, do I?

* * *

Moments after the announcement of the start, Keramon shoots out his other hand at me. I expect his attack and side-step, dodging it and keeping my eyes trained on it.

"Crazy Giggle! Kehahaha!"

Crazy what? The wild Digimon spews out a ball of white at me, flying quicker than his hand. It smacks my front, knocking me to the ground in an instant and leaving me almost breathless.

I gasp.

Towards my left, inches away, are the stained glass shards. Their pointed ends gleam in the light. I would have been in their receiving end, had the attack knocked me more to the left.

I try to get up, but the attack leaves me immobile and weakened. One single attack can paralyse my body to this extent? The shadow of the Digimon looms over me, as my eyes stare at the crazed Keramon's face.

He cackles once more, hands wriggling towards me in slow motion.

"Tag... You're going to die!" His hands shoot towards me, and I shut my eyes.

A sharp pain races from my hand, followed by bubbles bursting and an ear-piercing shriek. I open back my eyes, expecting the Keramon to have already tagged me.

But, he only grips onto his arm, a pained expression replacing his crazed look. My eyes roll to the side and capture the image of blood flowing out from my left hand. Red, gooey liquid oozing out of a fresh cut on the palm of my hand. Next to my hand, lays one of the glass shards, but stained with the exact bright red liquid.

Then, something starts to crawl on my body. I look in front and, immediately wish I hadn't. A purple hand, one I'm sure belongs to Keramon, moves around on my chest, fading away in particles. The dots start to connect in my head, and my panic rises.

I slashed this Digimon's hand with the glass shard.

He's going to kill me if I stay here any longer,

A strange burst of energy runs through my body, causing me to regain back my control of myself. I jump off the kitchen floor, backing away from the Digimon in front of me. The possible places to escape to flash through my head as my legs hightail me away from the kitchen.

No other thought, other than escape, forms in my head.

I retreat towards the one place that first came into my mind.

The bathroom.

Shutting the door behind me, I clasp the lock on it and lay against the door, slumping down. My breathing goes uneven, as the immense amount of energy continues to run in me. I couldn't calm down, not when I realise the current situation I'm in.

My smart self thought it was a good idea to accept the Keramon's invitation to play a death game, despite Pagumon's warnings about this Digimon. With ease, he overpowered me and was soon about to end my life then and there. In instinct, I grabbed the nearest glass shard and slashed his hand, earning me more seconds to live. Of course, in fear of the Keramon, I rushed out of the kitchen and abandoned him there.

"All those times, I scolded those actors in the movies for being cowards and abandoning everyone. Now I'm the one doing that, and I disgust myself." I speak to the bathroom sink, lowering my head. Pathetic, aren't I? I can't even do one simple thing without someone there to help or guide me.

All I ever did was rely on people for everything. To do simple tasks, I needed someone to hold my hand for it.

"Hey, let go of me!" Pagumon's voice sounds out from behind the wooden door.

"Tell me where the human child is!"

Oh no, he is searching for me, as I thought.

"How would I know?! Even if I did, I'm not saying a damn word to the likes of you- Agh!" I hear a loud thump on the floor, accompanied by the little Digimon's groaning.

"Fine, be like that! I'll kill you off, then search upstairs!"

Upstairs?... That's where Kiyo's hiding. If Keramon doesn't find me, he's going to find her and take her instead. Worse, he might channel his anger and injure her too.

No, no. I can't let that happen! I would rather die than let anything drastic occur to Kiyo. My life would be worthless without her!

I scan around the bathroom for any viable weapons to use against Keramon. The only notables ones are the bulky-looking shampoo bottles sitting on top of the toilet. Getting off the floor, I stumble around in my dizziness and grab the bottle by its handle. It proves its weight by almost pulling my arm off, making me carry it with two hands instead. I drag my weight towards the door, shift the lock with my shoulder and twist the doorknob quickly with my hand. Then, I push the door inwards with my foot and poke my head out.

Keramon, with his back towards me, stands by the staircase and seems to be holding down something with his hands. Looking closer, that something becomes Pagumon, who struggles in his grip. His red eyes catch me and he shakes his head at me, almost telling me to stay away.

Even at the face of death, he's still concerned about me? Why? I don't understand. But that doesn't matter.

Even if I can't comprehend it now, I'm sure I'll know later on in the future!

Taking a step forward, I lean my weight into and raise the shampoo bottle over my head. The planks creak loudly, alerting the Keramon in an instant as he turns around.

"Get your hands off my partner!" I swing the bottle down on the Digimon's head, bashing him down to the planks with a resounding thud. Keramon lays there unmoving and silent. The only sounds echoing about in the house are both of our heavy breathing, as we stare at each other.

My legs collapse, crashing me to the ground as well.

Did I defeat it? Did I win?

"W-We did it," Pagumon answers my silent questions, hopping towards me. I could see a few red bruises welling upon his small body, almost looking like bumps. As for me, my arms and hands ache in pain, screaming at me to let them rest.

But, we're alive. That's what matters the most. We didn't die.

"Whew! I honestly thought we were goners throughout this whole time! Then, you just came in and whacked Keramon's head like it was nothing, even ignoring all my warnings." His last words stab my heart through with a guilt knife.

"I'm sorry..."

"Ah, I don't mean that as a bad thing, partner! If you had listened to me earlier, I wouldn't even be talking to you right now."

"But if I listened to you much earlier, then we would have dealt with Keramon much quicker."

"What did I even say much earlier?" He gives me a look of genuine confusion. This little Digimon... whether he's doing it on purpose or not, he always finds a way to lighten up the mood for us.

Partner, huh? I beginning to already think of Pagumon as my partner. I even blurted out those words when I attacked Keramon, without giving them any thought.

Anyway, now that we dealt with Keramon, I think it's safe to get Kiyo from her room. The next obstacle we have to deal with is explaining the whole situation to her, which includes exposing the identity of Digimon to her. I should ask him if he's fine with it first.

"Hey, Pagumon, are you okay with telling Kiyo-"

"Well, well. Look at what we have here." A deep, unfamiliar voice sounds from upstairs. The two of us snap our heads towards the origin of the voice. As soon as my eyes lay on the sight, an uncontrollable feeling of rage erupts within me.

A yellow, monkey-like Digimon stands against the railing, looking down on us. Slumped over his shoulder, is Kiyo, who lays limply in an unconscious state.

**He dared to harm my little sister.**

"A-Apemon!" Pagumon says, fear evident in his tone. The Digimon, now identified as Apemon, leaps from the second floor and lands on the planks in front of us. As soon as he did, I swing the shampoo bottle at him, aiming for his legs.

But, he immediately catches on and kicks the bottle with his leg, smacking it out of my hands and flinging it across. It soars quite a distance before impacting with the wall. Then, with the same leg, he stomps it down on my hand.

"Agh!" I cry out in pain. I couldn't even try to wriggle my hand free as it completely numbs straight afterwards.

"You must be the very first human to even try and attack me. But, your movements are sluggish and easy to predict." He says in quite a smug tone.

"Easy to predict, huh?" Well, let's see if he expects this. Without hesitation, I chomp down on the Digimon's leg in succession.

"Ow! You...!" He releases my hand and kicks me in the face, hurling me away in a distance as well.

"Partner!... Shoot."

A bruise starts to well up on my face and stars begin to appear in my sight. The burst of energy soon disappears, leaving me in an immobile state. I could only watch Apemon snatch Pagumon off the ground and stare at him with his green, feline eyes.

"Partner? So you've chosen to ally yourself with humans. Hmph, if you really needed power, you should have chosen us instead."

"H-Huh? I don't get what you mean. Besides, I didn't ally with Keita for power! I allied with him because he's the partner for me!"

"Nonsense. Humans aren't supposed to be partners to us Digimon. They're resources for us to extract from to grow into our stronger forms. The sooner you realise that, the quicker you'll turn to us and abandon this rebellious child."

Hey, I can hear you! Well, even if I can hear his every word, I don't understand what any of it means. The only thing my mind is focusing on is trying to pry Kiyo from this Apemon!

The Digimon only sighs and releases Pagumon from his grip, dropping him onto the floor. He then grabs the fallen Keramon by the hand and drags him away, along with Kiyo.

"H-Hey, where are you going with my sister?!" Apemon gives me a side-glance as he continues his way up the stairs.

"... Be grateful you aren't in this little girl's position."

With those words, the Digimon enters my room and vanishes from our sight.

You've got to be kidding me. Even after all I've done and went through, the Digimon still kidnapped her and took her away from me!

**_"They won't, Kiyo. I won't let them come and get you. They would have to get through me first!"_ **

I said all that, but end up not following through with them. Those empty words that weren't even spoken by me!

... No. I refuse to let them easily take her. I can still rescue her! There's still chance and hope!

"Partner...? Are you there?" I hear Pagumon calling out to me. I look over and see him by the staircase. What's he doing there? "Laying there isn't going to help your sister! Come on, get up already!"

His words strike me speechless, but I set them aside.

As much as I would want to think about Pagumon's attitude, I still need to stop a certain Apemon from getting away!

"You don't have to tell me twice, Pagumon!"

* * *

After a couple of excruciating minutes up the staircase, we charge into my room. We expected Apemon to be standing here, but we're met with the presence of no one. The room is completely void of anyone, apart from me and Pagumon.

Where are they? I look out the window but see no one outside. I'm sure he wouldn't be quick enough to escape from the neighbourhood. Even then, I'm sure the news mentioned how the abductors disappear within the house, instead of escaping outside.

There's no one under the bed or in my wardrobe either.

Huh, they really did disappear. Did they do that vanishing trick as those magicians do on-stage? I still don't get how they do it. One second, they're floating in a water tank with chains wrapped around them. The next second, they're standing next to the tank, free of the chains.

I get distracted too easily.

"Where do you think they've... gone?" I turn to Pagumon to ask him, only to witness the little Digimon bash his head against the computer screen.

"Oww! Why doesn't this work?!"

"What are you even trying to do?" I walk over to him, checking out whatever he was doing.

"I'm trying to access the Digital World with this computer! My guess is, that's how Apemon managed to get into our world, like how I did. But, it's not working!"

Oh, so the computer is like an entry point to the Digital World and vice versa. I can wrap my head around that since I've seen Pagumon's entry here first-hand. Hm, I doubt the computer would have broke, given that Apemon had recently used it.

Giving the computer a closer inspection, I check the power switch behind it. It's flicked up, meaning that the power is still running through it. Then, I check the CPU, located below the computer, and find that the light isn't showing.

"There's your problem. The CPU is off."

"CP- what? Whatever, switch it back on then."

"Geez, you could have said that nicely."

"Fine. Would you please, with a cherry on top, switch on that thing?"

I roll my eyes at this Digimon's obvious sarcasm. Even I can detect sarcasm that clear, even if wax clogged my ears. Pressing down the switch, I hold it there for a couple of seconds.

The moment the small light appears, a much brilliant light emits from the computer. It immediately blinds us, causing me to cover my eyes with my arm.

"Okay, it's working!" Those are the last words I heard from the Digimon as my senses immediately dulled. Sight and hearing all vanquish, along with smell and taste.

The last thing I felt was a force pulling my body into something.


	6. Into the Digital World

"Nngh... I feel like throwing up." My senses rush back to me, leaving me with a nauseatic and circling feeling. My head feels like it's been revolving around the world non-stop and my eyes can't push off this heavy lid on them. I wonder if we managed to transport ourselves into the Digital World?

Maybe not.

With everything that has happened so far, I already know the world is going against me. I wouldn't be surprised if I opened my eyes to find myself laying on the floor of my room, half-dead and half-blind.

"Hey, wake up already! We don't have the time to sleep." Claws shake my body side-to-side, making me fall deeper into the temptation to vomit.  
"Knock it off, Pagu-" I bite my tongue on my words as realisation dawns upon me. Claws? Since when did that purple, oval, little Digimon had them? Also, this voice sounds much more mature than Pagumon's voice.

Eyelids jolting up, my pupils focus on an unfamiliar face, which covers most of my vision. It takes a second for me to register this before my words form.

"W-Who the heck are you?!" My body, with its instinct, crawls away from the unknown Digimon. Pain suddenly shoots up from my arms, causing me to hiss.

Right, I forgot about the injuries.

"What do you mean- Oh, right! I guess you wouldn't recognise me when I digivolved." I had to double-check my ears to see if this Digimon really is speaking the same language as me. His words made no sense! Then again, I've been used to everything around me being new, ever since I had lost my memories about the world.

I'll give him the chance to explain himself.

"I'm asking again. Who are you?"

"Geez, I thought you'd be smart enough to connect the dots... It's me, Keita! Your partner, the earlier Pagumon!" He points his claws towards his eyes and ears. Does he want me to look at them?

Paying closer attention to those features, I could see the similarity between this Digimon's ears and Pagumon's, the only difference being their size. For his eyes, they aren't slanted anymore, but the colour red shows a connection between the two of them.

But most importantly, he called me by my name. If that isn't a huge giveaway, then I don't know what is. My only problem is... What's with the bizarre appearance?!

"Pagumon...?! Where did you get limbs and a tail?!" I point to him, taking in the rest of his appearance. Despite the few connections, there are still some differences between the two, like the previously mentioned limbs and tail. He's grown to resemble more like an animal and can actually stand on two legs. His claws are quite sharp and pointed, black covering them. Interesting enough, there also seems to be a black belt covering his tail, making it look out of place. Overall, he went through a drastic change from being that little, oval Digimon to a bigger, animal Digimon.

"Didn't I answer your question already? I digivolved into this form!"

"I don't even know what 'digivolve' is! You can't just answer my question with an unknown term and expect me to take it!"

"Ah, right... Forgot that you don't know what that is."

"... How could you even forget something like that?"

* * *

After a three-minute-long explanation on Digivolution and how he managed to become this Digimon known as 'Gazimon', I feel like I'm on top of this world! For the first time in forever, I actually know about something to a large extend, rather than only having faint ideas about it.

If there was ever a quiz about Digivolution, I'm sure I'll be able to answer it all without getting a single one of them wrong.

"Hehehe... Knowledge really is power! Hahaha!"

"Why the heck are you laughing out of nowhere? That's really creepy, Partner." Gazimon says, standing over me. "Anyway, we really should get out of here. It's not safe to hang around Data Forest for too long."

Data Forest? I glance around me, only to be startled by the change in environment. Trees surround the perimeter, their branches and leaves dancing in the fleeting wind, and a dirt path stretches out from below us. Shadows with different-coloured eyes stare at us from within the trees, watching our movements with curiosity.

My earlier confidence shrinks immediately.

"Y-Yeah, let's start moving."

* * *

"So anyway, we're in the Digital World, right?" I ask Gazimon.

The Digimon, walking on four legs, nods his head.

"More specifically, we're in Data Forest. This place's filled to the brim with Digimon and is directly linked to two Digimon's territories, Flymon's and Shellmon's." He explains, bringing out two unfamiliar names.

"Flymon? Shellmon?" Is one of them just a humongous fly and the other is just a monstrous shell? It sounds like that, given their names.

"Flymon is..." He stops and gazes at all directions before resuming. "...just a big stinking bug who's overly obsessed with her Kunemon! Heck, taking one step into her territory, by mistake, apparently gives her the authority to almost slice me in half! I didn't touch the Kunemon or glance in their direction at all!" He shouts in front, slashing the air with his claws.

I should have never asked about it.

Now, I have to wait until he calms down and decides to continue in our search. Groaning silently, I pick out a place on the dirt path and make myself comfortable, stretching my legs out. Now that I'm taking a closer look at the environment... How are we supposed to find Apemon? These trees can already mask the identity of the Digimon and make them look like shadows, so it's going to be difficult picking him out.

Heck, he may not even be here and, we're just walking around in circles. My only guide here is busy shouting at the air because of some past grudges with this 'Flymon' character.

"When I get my hands on that Apemon, I swear I'll chomp down his legs and hands till they can't move..." I resume the habit of talking to myself once more. Hm, that's the one thing we both share in common.

Bushes start to rustle behind me.

My body turns to the back, eyes focusing on the shaking bush in front. The leaves fall off with each shake, and something begins to emerge from it. A Digimon? Yeah, it's definitely a Digimon. What else can it be?

My eyes glance to the side, only to see Gazimon continuing to shout about the other character, 'Shellmon'. Sigh, nevermind. I doubt he'll hear me anyway.

Grabbing the stick that was conveniently beside me, I raise it over my head, preparing to strike whoever that came out of the bush.

The rustling draws to a stop.

Seconds after that, a blue head with a red headband pokes out of the bush.

"Shin- Ack!" I completely cut him off by slamming the stick down on his head, dealing with him in the same fashion as Keramon. This movement has grown to stick with me! The Digimon falls to the ground, along with revealing half of his body. It seems that this Digimon resembles a blue dog with a headband and two boxing gloves for paws.

Well, not the weirdest one I've seen. Keramon still takes the trophy for 'Most Creepiest'.

Still, this stick isn't as heavy as that shampoo bottle, so he won't be unconscious for long.

"Hey, Gazimon!" I call for the complaining Digimon's attention.

"What? Can't you see I'm venting here?"

Weren't you the same Digimon who suggested that we move out of Data Forest quickly, you hypocrite? Oh, I finally get to use that word!

"I don't know what that means, but I managed to knock out a Digimon here, so help me out!"

"Knocking out a Digimon?" Gazimon moves over to where I am. "How did you even do that- Wait, wait! Why did you knock him out?!"

He rushes over to the fallen Digimon, inspecting him everywhere. Then, he proceeds to pull the Digimon's body from the bush, revealing the rest of him. The more I look at this Digimon, the more he reminds me of a blue dog who wants to box someone, judging from the gloves and bandanna.

Trust me, I've watched a couple of boxing shows on Television when I didn't have anything to do. It serves to be a great way to build up knowledge of the world!

"You didn't explain to me why I shouldn't be knocking this Digimon out." Gazimon stops slapping the fallen Digimon awake and looks to me, his eyes filled with impossible seriousness. For the first time, he's giving me an intense look, quite similar to the one Apemon gave me when he spoke about his skills in killing me. The same shiver runs through my body and, my hand instinctively brings the stick forward.

However, the look vanishes in an instant, softening his eyes.

"Geez, first off, knocking out random Digimon is going to land you into a lot of trouble! What if you knock out a Kunemon by mistake? The two of us will suffer at the wrath of that Flymon and, may not even make it out alive. And secondly..."

His gaze moves over to the blue, canine Digimon.

"This is one of my friends."

* * *

Time ticks by. I find myself on the ground, with Gazimon, waiting for the fallen Digimon to wake up. Apparently, the name of this Digimon is actually Gaomon, who's the first friend Gazimon made when they were quite young and still in their 'In-training Stages'. Gazimon also commented on what he's doing here, instead of going off to find his human partner.

With all the introduction out of the way, I suggested to Gazimon that we continue our search and carry Gaomon with us. But, for some odd reason, he refused to do that and instead, wanted us to wait till he awakens from his unconscious state. I asked him why and, he replied to me with these exact words.

"It's your fault that he's unconscious, so you're going to pay the price by waiting till he wakes up and apologising!"

"Seriously? How long is that going to take?"

"Depends on how hard you hit his head."

"... I don't think I swung that hard."

That led to now, where I'm busy laying down against a tree, fretting about my sister's situation. Geez, I can't believe I'm listening to his words and staying here...

Sure, it was my fault that Gaomon ended up like this, but you can't place the full blame on me since I was only being cautious. After my encounter with the former Digimon, who wouldn't be swinging their stick down?

Sigh. I hate this. I hate how these creatures broke into my life and kidnapped my sister right in front of my eyes. I hate how powerless I am to stop any of them. I hate how I'm just lying down against a tree, while my sister's out there in this vast, unknown world and possibly in danger!

"Hey, partner." Gazimon shifts his head to the side, staring at me with those similar red eyes.

"What." My tone comes out harsher than I intend it to.

"Sorry about lashing out on you earlier."

"It doesn't bother me much. Besides, it's my fault that your friend is like that." Bitterness covers my tongue when I spit those words out.

Is this what being 'salty' is like?

"... Sigh. Partner, I understand how you're feeling but-"

"No, you don't. You can't. Just... stop talking to me for a while."

Another feeling sweeps me in its hold, one that makes loneliness a pleasant thing. I look away, allowing my mind to wander in many thoughts and emotions.

It's been a long and eventful day. Not getting enough sleep, almost dying twice, getting my sister taken away and transporting to the Digital World. No matter how much I want to search for her non-stop, my body doesn't want to endure that.

Exhaustion takes control of me, drifting me into sleep.


	7. Troublesome Partner

In the middle of the night, where animals, humans and Digimon would have been fast asleep, I'm still awake. My rather tired eyes stare off in the distance, gazing at nothing but trees. Everything around me seems to just be trees, of all sizes, colours and even shapes.

In fact, there's even a tree trunk grown to resemble a spiralling tower. However, I don't make much of a reaction towards it.

I just want to close these weary eyes of mine and let my mind rest, after all the information I absorbed for the past... minutes? Hours? Maybe even a day? My sense of time has gone whack, just like everything around me.

Heck, my partner probably bailed on me, since he's not around here. It's just me and these crazy living trees.

"Keita..." A delicate, soft voice whispers into my ear, belonging to Kiyo. I whip my head around but see no one other than a tree.

Is this what people call a hallucination? If so, then I must be going crazy already.

"Keita, help me..." It sounds much further away this time, coming from deep within the forest.

Screw it. Crazy or not, I prefer being out there than sticking around with these abnormal trees! Forcing my weary self off the trunk, I push my body forward and accelerate towards the source of the voice. The branches twist away from me, almost as if they want me to take this route.

Once again, I ignore it and pursue her lingering voice.

"Kiyo!" I try calling out to her, but it only serves in nearly drowning out her voice. The trees clear away from my vision, leaving the darkness as my only obstacle.

"I'm here..." Oh, how close I was to backing away if it wasn't for that last call. Without any hesitation, I charge forth and fling myself into the evergrowing darkness, letting it envelop me in its rather cold grasp.

"Ngh... I-It's freezing in here. Am I in a fridge or something?" My breath comes out as a white puff.

I look around in the darkness, trying to find anything that would point to her. That last cry said she would be here... or am I mistaken? Maybe she isn't here, and she's outside with the trees.

"You came." Her voice sounds beside me.

I twist my body to the side, my eyes laying upon a petite, feminine figure. Within this void of black, where even light can't penetrate through, I could see Kiyo standing in front of me, by some miracle. She wears her familiar smile, almost acting normal.

Acting as if nothing had happened.

And I would be happy to go along with that.

"K-Kiyo." My voice shivers in the cold, my mind going cloudy, out of relief. "I-I..." The words tumble in my mind, fighting with each other on what gets to come out.

A victor emerges.

"I'm sorry, Kiyo. I'm sorry that I didn't protect you from the Digimon as I promised!" I lower my head.

I can't look at her in the eyes, knowing that she must have suffered a lot to get here. If only I wasn't such an unreliable and weak brother... then, my little sister wouldn't have to go through this!

"Keita." Cold hands grasp my face, tilting it slightly upwards.

 **"... You're right. You really are a worthless older brother."** Her voice goes from soft to sharp in an instant. My eyes quickly shoot up to see her... Only for there to be another figure in her stead.

A figure of black stands there instead, holding a twisted smile on their 'face'.

**"You really thought I would magically appear before you, unharmed and happy to see you? Haha! Even fantasy shows are more realistic than this!"**

I push the black figure away and yell, "Who the hell are you? What did you do with Kiyo?!"

The black figure only laughs humorously.

 **"Kiyo? She was never here! It was all me!"** The voice switches to a masculine yet kiddish tone, holding some familiarity. **"Heck, this isn't even real. It's all a dream, you know? A dream!"**

"... A dream?" With those two words, the black shatter into nothingness and, my vision goes off without warning.

* * *

"Huff, huff..." I gasp, jolting awake. It feels like my consciousness slammed back into me with force, soreness covering my body. Beads of sweat dot on my forehead as I try to calm down and catch my breath.

That was one of, if not, the strangest dream I have ever been in. Not only did nothing make sense, I even interacted with someone in that dream. Though, do I count Shadow Figures as a 'someone'? Damn, can I not catch a break, even in my sleep-

"Partner, wake up! We got a crisis!" Gazimon cuts into my thoughts with his shouting.

"Crisis?! Who, what, where, when, why and how?!" Springing off the grass, I look around us for any sign of danger. However, only sticks, crushed leaves, and the peeping eyes of the Digimon surround us.

Am I missing something?

"I don't see anyone."

"Yeah, that's it. You don't see anyone."

"Huh? I don't get it." I glance towards Gazimon with a confused face.

However, my disbelief falls short when I see the Digimon with a brooding expression, his eyes darting in every direction as if they were searching for something. There must be something I'm overlooking...

I don't see anyone else... Someone else was supposed to be here?

Realisation strikes me faster than I could blurt out my answer.

"Gaomon isn't here." He tilts his head towards me, frowning.

"Yeah, that's right. That idiot seems to have wandered off somewhere on his own too!" The Digimon turns behind, nudging me to look as well.

Over his shoulder, I could see a trail of crunched leaves and broken sticks going towards one of the many paths stretching out from this circular area of the forest. Though it isn't consistent, there are still enough leaves and sticks to show which way he had gone towards.

"Couldn't he just be strolling around? I don't see what's the worry if we know where he's going." I say, trying to relieve his distress.

However, he still keeps a dark shade on his face, frowning even deeper.

"Yeah, I could believe that... if it weren't for the fact that this pathway directly leads to Kunemon's Bed."

* * *

Moments after Gazimon mentioned the place, he took off down the pathway Gaomon supposedly went. I too went along with him and ended up doing a running marathon with him. The path seems to stretch on and on, almost looking like an infinite reach.

I have seen loop videos where a scene would repeat itself with no end destination in sight until the video ends. Sometimes, it makes me feel satisfied whenever I watch it.

But, there's no way I would want to actually do it in reality.

"Gazimon?" I call for the other's attention. However, the Digimon doesn't respond and keeps his eyes glued to the front. Did he not hear me?

"Gazimon!" Still no response. Sheesh, looks like his ears are the one clogged with wax. It doesn't seem like I can make conversation with him, given how he's either ignoring me or unable to hear me.

As we run, my thoughts drift back to my dream, showing me vivid images of the sequence in my head. Usually, I wouldn't care about these kinds of things, because of what Kiyo said about their randomness. But, those two dreams didn't feel random to me at all.

If anything, they were the most familiar and interactive, out of all of them, especially with the repeating shadow figures. The first one is kind of hard to wrap my head around since I have no idea who the kid and the man are. It's the second dream I'm worried about the most, due to Kiyo- the shadow figure's dialogue.

I understand that it's not Kiyo, but I can't stop thinking about whether she ever thought of me like that. It's hard to take care of an amnesiac, judging from the shows I watch and how much effort Kiyo and Mum place to raise me well.

Heck, she's only 9-years-old! It should have been the other way around, with me taking care of her, not Kiyo spending her childhood raising a worthless brother like me. She even got taken away from me, right before my eyes, and I couldn't do anything to stop it!

All I did was lay there in pain, whining and complaining to myself.

And now, I'm busy running off to save a Digimon, whom I don't know much of, from certain doom, instead of trying to track my sister down.

You really need to set your priorities straight, Keita.

* * *

We reach a fork in the pathway, after many twists and turns in the rather complicated forest. Throughout the running experience, I almost lost sight of Gazimon, who did not hear me shouting his name, more times than I can count.

Well, at least we kind of made it.

Even though I call it a fork, it's obvious which one leads to a dangerous place like Kunemon's Bed and which one continues the loop.

On my right, is a pathway which fades into a dark green colouring, along with a thick purple atmosphere flowing visibly about. In it, yellow worms with Harry Potter-like lightning marks for eyes slither about, some hanging from the branches of the trees.

On my left, is a plain, brown path.

Gazimon stands in front of me at the entrance to Kunemon's Bed. He hasn't said a word since we started running here, and while I do love monologuing and pondering to myself, I'd wish he at least would talk to me.

* * *

_"... Sigh. Partner, I understand how you're feeling but-"_

_"No, you don't. You can't. Just... stop talking to me for a while."_

* * *

Memories of our previous interaction flow through my head, each line plunging the guilt knife deeper into me.

Why do I keep doing things I regret?

"Keita." I flinch when he calls me by my name, instead of his usual partner. With timidity, my eyes move over to the Digimon, unable to make proper eye-contact with his red ones.

"Yes?"

"Could you wait out here instead?"

"Huh, why?"

Gazimon pauses for a bit, before continuing.

"... Well, there's a monstrous fly inside." He gestures towards Kunemon Bed. "And she's much, much worse than Keramon or even Apemon! She's capable of ripping Digimon to mere data and paralyse them with that ear-piercing cry of hers. There's no way you'd last a second in there, so for your safety, just stay out here."

He bows slightly, ears and tail falling flatly.

"I don't want to see my partner get hurt any longer..." The Digimon mutters in a sad tone, one I've heard my Mother use back then. Back when I 'first' met her.

Suddenly, my voice fades away, and a cold feeling covers my body. The chill creeps along from my head down to my legs, moving in a quick pace. This feeling is almost like... back in my dream!

" **Hey Gazimon, we're partners, right?** " 'I' say, grabbing the attention of the other. He slowly lifts his head, the crestfallen expression still on his face.

"Of course we are-"

" **Then, why don't you trust me? If we're partners, then you should have some faith that I can defend myself from any danger**."

"But, Flymon's much more dangerous than any other Digimon-"

" **I don't care**!" 'I' shout, cutting the Digimon off with surprise and volume. " **I don't care if she can rip me to shreds or poison me or make me go deaf. She can still do the same to you, right? If we really are partners, then we should be facing the danger together, not let the other bear the brunt on his own. You really should understand the term better, Gazimon."**

Now it's the Digimon's turn to go silent, as the surprised expression remains on his face and his body goes still. When 'I' had nothing more to say, only then did my voice return and the chills disappear from my body.

"Ghg..." I quietly say. That voice... He's not only from my dream but from back in my home, when 'I' insulted my Mum and comforted Kiyo. He's the one who said all those words when I wouldn't even have dared to mutter.

But what exactly is he?

"Haha... Hahahaha!" Gazimon suddenly bursts out laughing, almost making me jump out of my skin.

"W-What's with the sudden laughter?" I stare at him with a weird expression as he continues to laugh.

"Haha... I'm such a damn fool. Here I thought you wanted nothing to do with my troubles, but it's actually the opposite. Really, I can't thank ya enough partner!" He grins widely, his smile almost radiating.

Instead of happiness, only guilt fills me.

Gazimon takes me by the hand and looks at me straight in the eyes with a determined and confident expression.

"Let's go save Gaomon!"

As I barely make eye-contact with the Digimon, I could only give him one answer in return.

"Yeah..."


	8. Territory Invaders

"Geez, this place is even creepier than the last time I came here..." Gazimon says, pulling a face as he walks on all fours.

"Really? I find this place quite interesting!" I say with amusement, glancing at the surroundings.

Despite its appearance, the inside isn't as scary as I thought it to be. The atmosphere is quite clear, not coloured with the faded purple I saw earlier, and the Kunemon seem to clutter near the side with some weird-looking eggs. The trees spread their branches out, holding purple leaves at their ends, instead of green ones.

I mean, who wouldn't be curious?

However, Gazimon only stares at me with a blank face and says, "Interesting... Hah! Let's see if you can keep that thought up when you witness what the Kunemon are actually doing." He gives me a smirk.

"Oh come on, what's the worse they could be doing? Mating?" I take up his challenge. There is no way anything can be worse than seeing two worms mate together!

"Alright... I dare you to go near the Kunemon over there and see what they're doing." He points over to a small crowd of Kunemon near one of the trees. "Don't worry, they won't attack you."

"Okay." I walk over to where Gazimon pointed earlier, making sure my presence goes unnoticed by the yellow worms. Just like the Canine Digimon said, they neither attacked me nor even saw me creeping over to them.

What could they be so absorbed in?

I peek over the Kunemon, trying to get a glimpse at what they were crowding around. The item slowly comes into my view until...

"Hrrk! Ugh, I-I think I'm going to vomit everything out!"

Nausea splashes over me instantly when I notice the thing and what they are doing to it. In the centre of the yellow worms, decaying and rotting away in particles, a corpse of what seems to be a Digimon is laid out. The worst thing is the fact that the Kunemon are eating it!

They are gnawing away at the body as if it was daily food to them.

"Still think this place is interesting?" Gazimon moves beside me, still keeping that annoying smirk on his face, that seemed conveniently punchable.

"Fine, you win this one!"

* * *

After recollecting myself and suppressing the urge to hurl, the two of us continue on our way silently. Well, it would have been silent if it weren't for the loud crunching noises made by the Kunemon. It makes it harder for me to get that image out of my head...

Just visualising it in my mind is enough to throw up last night's dinner.

"I've never gotten this deep into the forest before..." Gazimon mumbles to himself, unfocused. Oh right, he had mentioned about how he came here when he was a Pagumon. With how loudly he was complaining about it, I'm amazed that it managed to slip my mind.

"Why did you go to Kunemon's Bed anyway?" My question seems to drag the Digimon from his thoughts as he glances towards me.

"I didn't tell you, partner?" He says in confusion, tilting his head to one side.

"N-No... All you did was shout and complain to the sky."

"I didn't complain! It's called venting!"

"What's the difference?"

The Digimon stops in his tracks, looking at me with a face of pure astonishment.

"I-... Nevermind. You want to know, right? I'll tell ya."

* * *

Two Digimon, one salty Pagumon and one energetic Wanyamon hopped about on the brown, straight trail, leading towards a fork. Pagumon did not enjoy being outside, as it meant that the little Digimon would meet some... aggressive Digimon.

However, he was left with no choice when the scientists picked him and Wanyamon to scout the forest. The humans did not want to take their chances of exploring by themselves, so they decided it was best to send the inhabitants to explore and return with geographical information. Besides, Wanyamon was a magnet for trouble, so someone had to keep an eye on him.

That someone ended up to be Pagumon.

"Hey!" The blue cat Digimon suddenly yelled into the other's ear, snapping him out of his lingering thoughts.

"Agh! Don't yell like that, Wanyamon!" Pagumon shouted back.

"Sorry... You didn't respond to me when I called your name three times."

"Three times?! What'd you need me for?"

Wanyamon nudged the Digimon to the front. In front of the two small Digimon, a fork in the pathway laid in their way. The left one would continue their journey in Data Forest while the other would bring them to a completely different place.

Pagumon did not seem indecisive at all, hopping towards the left.

"C'mon, do you really need me to show you- Wanyamon?!" The idiotic Digimon dashed towards Kunemon's Bed in no time, ignoring Pagumon's yells and warnings.

"... That idiot! Wanyamon, hold up!"

With no choice, Pagumon had to enter Kunemon's Bed, in search of his friend. The moment he entered the area, an ominous feeling washed upon his body, slowing him down at the entrance. It seemed like there was a pair of eyes that were sticking to him, like a CCTV camera.

However, he hadn't given much care as he saw his friend up ahead, looking around Kunemon's Bed with a tinge of curiosity.

"Oi!" Wanyamon turned around, only to see Pagumon hopping towards him with a pissed-off face. "Pull that stunt again and, I'll make sure you-"

"Hey, could you take this fight outside of our home? Some of us are sleeping!" The two In-training Digimon whirled around and found themselves face-to-face with a group of Rookie Digimon, namely Kunemon.

"Ah, sor-"

***SLASH***

"Waargh!" Both Pagumon and Wanyamon ducked to the ground in an instant, narrowly dodging a talon cut from above. When it was deemed safe, the purple oval peeked from below.

Up in the air, flapping their illusionary purple wings, was a yellow creature holding the same appearance of the yellow worms, but with an orange collar hair and a stinger behind.

"W-What-"

"Leave this place before I slice you up, In-training Digimon! You are not even worthy to be my prey!" Her voice boomed with authority, sending chills and fear towards the quivering Digimon.

Without much remarks and retorts, the two hopped away as fast as they could, not looking back at all.

* * *

"And yeah, so that's how Gaomon and I managed to escape from Kunemon's Bed when we were little. We high-tailed out of there like Kokatorimon!"

"Koka- what?"

"Kokatorimon!" He repeats as if I didn't hear the first time.

When he was recalling his story, I noticed his hind legs were shivering, though not so noticeable. Whoever this Flymon character is, they really must be scary.

Maybe I should have stayed outside the forest.

"Hey, what are you two doing here?" An unknown voice cuts me off, halting our conversation.

The two of us stop in our tracks and turn to our right, only to find a Kunemon slithering towards us. I take a step back in caution while Gazimon moves forward, raising his arm in front of me.

"Just finding a friend. You know where Gaomon is?" I could see the Digimon refraining himself from slashing at the yellow worm in front of us. His claws shake beside him.

"Gaomon?... Ah right. He and Flymon just had a scuffle earlier. Poor guy was dragged away deeper into Kunemon's Bed, where she laced the area with poison gas." The Kunemon informs, surprisingly being helpful.

I thought he was the enemy? Why is he being so helpful to us?

"T-Thanks..." Gazimon says before rushing off again. I only sigh as I run after him, waving towards the Kunemon. The yellow worm only returns with a slight tilt in his body before slithering back to his group.

* * *

"Huff, huff..." I pant once more as the two of us run through the rather straight pathway. Trees and Kunemon zip pass us and, within moments, the atmosphere switches from colourless to purple instantly.

It's the same one I saw back at the entrance!

The air carries a pungent smell, encouraging the food to go back up my throat. I stick my tongue out in disgust and pinch the bridge of my nose.

This must be the poison gas that Kunemon mentioned earlier. If so, that means we are at least closer to Gaomon and can finish this whole running marathon once and for all. I have never been so out of breath until now!

Looking over to Gazimon, who was running ahead of me, he doesn't seem affected by the poison gas. In fact, I don't think he even realises there is any in the first place.

"Gazimon, do you smell that?" I ask the Digimon, trying to confirm my suspicions.

He looks back and shakes his head at me. "No, why? Is the smell of the corpses still haunting your nose? Hehehe!"

"Y-Yeah." I lie.

Yeah, he doesn't know. Maybe it's a good thing that the worrywart isn't aware of the gas since he'll probably convince me to stay outside. At the very least, I can try to uphold 'his' words.

**"... worthless older brother..."**

The voice echoes in my head once again.

"Not anymore," I mumble, balling my hands into fists and pushing my legs forward.

The poison gas seems to weaken my control over my legs, as I slowly lose feeling in them. Not to mention, it makes breathing a lot harder, especially when we're running.

Darn, Gazimon is one lucky Digimon if he's not feeling the effects of it. Maybe Digimon aren't affected by it? But, there wouldn't be any point for the poison gas if it can't even affect Digimon.

National Geographical Channel, help me out here!

Sigh, nevermind. I can never understand these kinds of things and, I don't want to either. Gazimon is probably just an exceptional case.

End of story.

"Ah, I see him!" Said Digimon exclaims, pointing towards a circular region with a big tree in the centre. There, slumped against the tree with wounds covering his body, is the Blue Dog Digimon with a bandanna and boxing gloves. Beside Gaomon, there is another one laying on the ground, but it doesn't seem to be a Digimon.

His figure seemed to be similar... to a human, or maybe he is a human.

Gazimon speeds up while I slow down to a turtle pacing, trotting weakly behind the Digimon. My partner notices my absence rather quickly and turns around, a worrying look filling his face.

"Are you okay, partner? You look as white as your hair."

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine." I lie once more, not even acknowledging his lame joke. He looks dubious but gives up on it, turning back to the fallen Digimon and human.

"Hey Gaomon, wake up!" He shakes the other rather roughly by the shoulder in an attempt to stir him awake.

"Ow, ow... Gazimon? H-Human?" Gaomon mumbles, opening his eyes, just as I managed to walk over to them. "What are you two doing here in Kunemon's Bed?!"

"That's what I should be asking you! What the hell were you thinking, barging in here and fighting with Flymon, when you clearly know how dangerous she is?!"

This is the first time I heard Gazimon shout so angrily. For a moment, he almost seems unrecognizable to me! Gaomon opens his mouth to speak, but then shuts it instantly, his eyes wildly darting side-to-side.

Then, they stop at the fallen, unfamiliar human beside him. Moving away from Gazimon, he ignores the other's words and stoops down to the human beside him.

"Shinsuke...!" He begins shaking the human, apparently known as Shinsuke, slowly in an attempt to wake him. Looking at this scene, it seems the gears whirred in Gazimon's head, as his eyes soften.

"This human is your partner? Is that why you...?"

"Yeah. S-Shinsuke got taken away by Flymon earlier and-"

"Uh, I'm sorry to cut in, but can we get out of here first?" I interrupt the story-telling.

"Ah, right, right. We better leave before Flymon decides to pay a visit to her food." Gazimon agrees with my decision, moving towards Gaomon and extending a claw to him. The other accepts it and gets off the ground on shaky legs.

"Partner, could you help bring the other human? I... I'm still not comfortable." I could see his hindlegs shivering again as he speaks.

"Sure, I don't mind." I'll do anything if it means to escape from this place as quick as possible. The poison gas smells so awful!

With Gaomon's help, we pull the human boy off the ground, placing his arm around my neck. I think this is how they did it on television...

Upon a closer look, I could pick out details of the boy's appearance. Shinsuke seems to don a school uniform, a black one at that, with a red tie hanging from his collar and torn sleeves running all the way to his hands. Along with his top, he wears blue-black pants with high socks and black shoes, looking like a perfect student. His hair holds a navy blue colour to them, while his skin pales into a white. There's even a cross earring hanging loosely from his ear!

"Hey, partner! Are you there? Don't zone out on us!" Gazimon snaps me out of my monologuing once again, bringing my attention to him. "We're leaving now."

"Ah, right, sorry," I say.

With Gazimon supporting Gaomon and me supporting Shinsuke, the four of us walk away from the tree as fast as we could. In the back of our minds, we're all probably hoping that we don't run into Flymon-

"Leaving so soon?"


	9. Prey or be Preyed on

"Leaving so soon, my little prey?" A sweet yet malicious voice whispers from behind us. The moment we turn around, I meet with a huge yellow bee with pink, giant wings, towering above us. Her gaze holds a cold feeling in them, despite her not having any eyes.

Is this...?

"F-Flymon!" The two Digimon exclaim with a stutter. Gazimon starts to shiver badly, barely holding up Gaomon, who pales into white and is close to passing out again. That leaves me the only able person standing in front of this monstrous fly, staring right at her non-existent eyes.

My feet root themselves to the ground.

"I knew you two were trespassing into MY territory, provoking MY children and were trying to steal MY prey from the very beginning." Flymon edges nearer to me with each 'my'. "The only reason why I held back on slicing your heads off is that I wanted to see you suffer. I wanted to see your weak knees buckle to the ground as you beg me for mercy." Her talons rise to my face, her rough touch causing me to flinch back slightly. "Especially you. Those vacant red eyes... I would love to see them go wide with fear!"

I could only silently watch as Flymon's pincers open and lean in towards me, tongue slowly coming out with its saliva dripping. My grip on Shinsuke wavers and before I knew it, my knee jerks up, hitting Flymon by her chin.

"Ngh!" She reels back from the impact. "You... You insolent prey!" Her talons rise to her face, glimmering in whatever sunlight that is present.

"I'll tear your limbs apart!"

I feel a claw grab me by the arm, wheeling me away from Flymon. "C'mon! We gotta run!" Gazimon says, still holding onto my arm. Reality comes back to me and, I snap out of my daze, focusing my eyes to the front.

With a nod, I sling Shinsuke around my neck and carry his featherweight on my back.

I just have to run. I just have to get out of here!

* * *

"Food! Food!" Numerous Kunemon start to chant, appearing by the sides of the narrow pathway. Their eyeless gazes centre on the four of us as we dash as fast as we can through the path. Another burst of energy kicks into my body. It courses through my limbs, removing the aching pain and exhaustion from my muscles.

I did not know it could subdue poison like this!

"G-Gazimon! Nets!" Gaomon warns.

"Whoa!" The canine Digimon barely dodges an incoming net, laced with electricity. "Damn it, now the Kunemon are attacking us!" He says with a growl at the end, glaring at the yellow worm Digimon.

However, they don't flinch.

Their attacks persist, electricity sparking in the air and on the ground, lighting the dark path ahead of us. Buzzing noises belonging to that of Flymon echo behind us, joining in with the already irritating chorus. Geez, I am going to go deaf soon!

"Do not even think about outrunning the Queen of Data Forest so easily!" Amidst this chaos, Flymon's voice booms, submerging our cries, the Kunemon's chants and even my own voice, ringing loudly in my ears.

"H-...wli-...g N-...ise!" Her next two words fall short.

In the next moment, a shrill cry pierces through the noise with a high pitch, enough to break whatever is in my ear. Control of my body fades away, along with the pungent smell of poison and the boy's weight on my back, causing me to stumble about. The world spins around in my eyes, going in circles as the trees dance around in their fixed positions, their branches shaking about in the closed path.

"A-...gh!" I barely catch Gazimon's yell. I glance at the Digimon's direction, only to see him and Gaomon fall to the ground with a thud. Their furs point upwards, traces of electricity running through them.

Did they-

**SPARK!**

A painful feeling shoots ups from my legs. It shocks my senses back to reality as the current runs through my body. No sooner had they returned, than they completely vanish, launching me into a black abyss without a single second spared.

The last things my ears managed to catch were the chantings of the Kunemon and a cackle from Flymon.

* * *

"...Hey. Hey, wake up!" An unfamiliar voice calls out to me.

Who is that? Forcing my tired eyes open, I blink them a few times before focusing on the image in front of me. I see another human, holding worry in his turquoise eyes with cuts on his face.

"What happened?" My words come out softer than I intended them to as I get off the grass.

"Your guess is as good as mine." He answers. "When I woke up, you were the only one here and knocked out too. I couldn't leave you alone, so I tried to wake you up."

Scanning the surroundings, I find no other Digimon, neither Gazimon nor Gaomon, Kunemon or even Flymon, just like Shinsuke had said. We were the only ones present here.

"Where did they go?" I mutter out loud.

"... I don't know. Don't ask me." Shinsuke gets off the grass and starts to walk around, peering through the bushes and trees. I follow his actions, looking at the other sides. Through the thickness of the bushes, my eyes catch the tails of some Kunemon slithering away quickly to one direction, east from where we are.

"Shinsuke, I found something," I call for the boy's attention, looking over to him. His neck snaps towards me with wide eyes and a surprised look.

"How do you know my-... Nevermind. What did you find?" He moves over to me, still keeping his sulky expression. Stepping away from the bushes, I point towards the pathway, just as they slither away from our view.

"Those yellow worms... I saw them with that monstrous fly just before she took me." He mumbles to himself, but I catch his words.

"Flymon kidnapped you?" I ask curiously.

He doesn't answer my question this time. Ignoring me, he moves towards the pathway without a second thought.

I only stare at his back as I wonder to myself this thought;

"Are humans always this cold?"

* * *

The two of us didn't talk at all as we walk through the pathway with silent steps. The boy had told me to keep quiet so that the Kunemon couldn't hear us, but I can't help to wonder if there's another reason for it. He has been looking irritated and troubled from the start. I had assumed it was because of the whole situation that we're in.

Maybe I'm overthinking this.

Nevertheless, the silence seems to somehow physically hurt me, like it's forcing me to talk or make a sound. I feel like if I don't say something right now, I'll probably scream or just drop down dead.

"Wait." Shinsuke says a word, breaking the silence and freeing its hold on me. He sticks his hand out to stop me from walking. "I think I see more of those yellow worms. They're definitely heading to a specific location."

" **Wow, such a brilliant deduction, detective.** " The other one speaks, right before I put a hand up to my mouth. Shinsuke gives me a side glare. He doesn't say a word to me as he turns back, keeping a further eye on the Kunemon.

Great, the boy already hates me. I've always watched those shows where the two main characters would hate each other and become rivals, then start to like one another as the shows progress. But, looking at this situation, I doubt he's going to change his mind about me any time soon.

Sigh, and he's the first human I've ever interacted with outside of my family.

Shaking my lingering thoughts away, I focus on the sight in front of us. Though the path was dimly lit, the vibrant yellow bodies of the Kunemon provided us with some sort of vision. As the boy said, they seem to enter another circular area, much like the one Gazimon and I entered in to find them.

"I bite! And I bite hard!" Gaomon's voice rings out from the circular area.

"Gaomon...!" Shinsuke whispers loudly, visibly suppressing his voice. I could see his grip on the tree tighten, bits of splinters coming out.

"Keep quiet! Do not make me knock you out as I did with your friend." Flymon speaks, loud as ever.

Friend? Does she mean...?

"Gazimon!" His name shoots out of my mouth as I rise from my earlier crouching position.

"Hey! Simmer down before they-"

"Who's there?!" Several Kunemon cut Shinsuke's words off, dragging our attention to them.

"... You should have kept quiet." The boy says, disappointment in his tone. When I saw the other's frustrated eyes, an unknown feeling pulled me back down, along with my energy.

Was this sadness? Anxious?... Rejection?

I don't know how to describe what I feel. But, I do know that we have to get out of here! Luckily for us, only three Kunemon heard us and, none of them seems to be fetching Flymon. We just need to knock them out and...

**Kill them if necessary.**

Grabbing a stick from the fallen ones on the ground, I rise up again. However, Shinsuke pulls me back down. He moves away from the tree and starts running away, still keeping me in hand.

"T-They're running!" The Kunemon shout and start to slither after us.

"Hey, what are you doing? Let go of me!" I try to shake my hand away, but the boy's grip on my arm stays firm. Man, Shinsuke is quite strong! If he's this strong, then why is he choosing to run?

He chooses not to answer my question and continues to run, turning back occasionally to see if the Kunemon is chasing us.

After a minute, the boy stops abruptly, nearly causing me to fall forward. He then lets go of my arm.

"This should be far enough-"

"Why did you run?!" I shout at him, cutting him off. "We could have fought those three Kunemon and won them-"

Shinsuke glares at me once more, stepping forward to me. He holds my shoulders and brings me towards him, our faces only a single meter apart from each other.

"Won? Yeah sure, we win, then what? The commotion would have gotten Flymon's attention, and she'll come to us! The only fighting chances we have are captive to that monstrous fly. Winning? Try another word called dying!"

With those words, he lets go of my shoulders and pushes past me. The boy leaves me to stand there once again as I get lost in thoughts. Surprise, anger and especially hurt envelop me in their grasp until I shake them off once again.

No, Shinsuke was right. I should have been more careful earlier!

" **Was he?** "

* * *

Taking a different pathway, we head towards the opposite direction of where we ran. This time, the silence isn't suffocating to me, maybe because of the boy's scolding. I didn't want to disobey him again and get us into trouble once more, so I tried my best to be wary of my surroundings.

Fortunately, we didn't encounter any Kunemon as we finally reach the circular area, where Flymon, Kunemon and the other two were at. Our positions are just behind Flymon, under the covering of some bushes. Everyone except Gaomon and Gazimon, had their backs turned to us.

"Grr...! Where did you take Shinsuke, you old hag?!" Gaomon says with a growl. He struggles in vain against the sturdy webs, which binds him against the tree. Gazimon is there next to him, but he doesn't put up much resistance against them. He seems to be in a daze.

"He just called her a hag!"

"Flymon may be old, but she isn't a hag.'

"Down with the hag!"

The Kunemon mutter to themselves.

"Stop calling me a hag!" Flymon shouts, silencing the Kunemon's chatter in an instant. She then looks towards Gaomon, who stares back with determination in his eyes. "I think you will be better off staying quiet forever."

The blue Digimon flinches at her words. "T-Try it! I'll bite if you come close!"

This is not looking good. I glance over to Shinsuke, who seems to be thinking about something.

"Um... Shinsuke?" The mention of his name snaps him out of thoughts as he looks at me. "This isn't a good time to visit dreamland."

"I was not dreaming! I was thinking of a plan." He answers with a huff. He motions me to come closer to him, to which I comply with.

"You have to be in sync with me for this to work, okay?"

I nod at him. "Yeah, I'll try."

"Alright, then. Here's the plan..."


	10. Hide and Seek

This must be the craziest thing I have ever done. Even crazier than losing memories, jumping into a different world or interacting with otherworldly creatures. But, I need to have some faith in his words. In Shinsuke, a boy who I had just met and started a hate relationship with by accident.

I'm placing my trust in his plan.

Taking a deep breath, I wait til Shinsuke is out of my sight and hold the stick firmly in my hands. The splinters poke me, but I barely feel the pain. In fact, I feel quite hot and breathless right now...

No, stay calm, Keita! I need to do my part well if I want all of us to get out of this mess alive.

When the boy is finally gone, I rise from my position. I step out of the bushes, which rustle their leaves loudly, with shaky legs. "I hope this works." I mutter to no one but myself. As soon as I step out, some of the Kunemon spot me and alert the queen herself.

"You?!" She turns around in surprise. "I thought I had left you there, along with the other prey!" Her pincers open and shut in shock, talons rising in an attempt to attack.

Alright, here goes nothing!

I stand idly in place, waving the stick around from one side to another. Then, I toss it up in the air, watching it spiral violently out of control before it lands on my other hand. Applauses roar from the crowd of Kunemon as I take a bow towards them.

"Thank you, folks! I'll be here all night!" I mimic one of the comedians in those Night Bar shows. Sweat drips from my face and back, not daring to raise my head up and meet the eyeless glare from Flymon, who does not seem to be amused by my performance.

"... Have you gone mad, prey? Has everyone gone crazy here?! Stop gawking at him and chase him already, Kunemon!" She orders the crowd, irritated by them, slashing the air in my direction.

"M-Maybe I won't be here all night after all..." I whisper, raising my head up. All of the Kunemon start to slither towards me slowly, with Flymon matching their pace as she beats her wings vigorously at me.

Well, time for the next part of the show.

"Ahhh!" I take off, screaming and running literally for my life.

* * *

***Shinsuke's POV***

_ Moments before Keita went out _

"Alright, here's the plan. I'm going to need you to provide a distraction. While their attention is focused on you, I'll sneak through the sides and get to where Gaomon and Gazimon is. Then, I'll free them and, we'll be able to fend them off and escape from here. Got it?"

"Got it!" The albino boy nods his head eagerly, seemingly compliant with my plan.

"Are you sure? It's quite risky. Failure on either side isn't an option, you know." I warn him. He hasn't shown to be very capable or bright in these few moments of interaction we had so far. Especially when he nearly had us exposed to Flymon too early because of his outburst.

"Yes! I trust you with your plan, so have some trust in me too, Shinsuke." His words strike a nerve.

How can I easily trust someone as suspicious as him? But, he has a point. I need to have some faith that he'll pull this off, rather than keeping doubts on him and be stuck on a stalemate.

"Fine. Go think of a distraction while I head out first." I say, turning my back on him. He doesn't give me a reply, staying silent as I move through the trees. Their branches brush against my body, making soft rustle sounds, but not enough to attract any of the Digimon's attention. In the darkness, the trees become my guide as I circle around the area, keeping a watchful eye on Flymon and Kunemon.

In the next few seconds, just as I am nearing the two Digimon, the boy comes out of the bushes with quivering legs. The Kunemon immediately notices him and informs Flymon, who speaks out in surprise at him. The boy goes stiff, holding the stick tightly in his hands.

"Is he going to be okay?" I find myself say. He looks like he might burst at any moment, out of either fear or embarrassment.

I reach the section of the circular area where the two were held captive at. As I turn to the trees, I spot the boy's distraction playing out in front of me. He waves the stick around as if he's holding a magician's wand, then throws it in the air, spinning the wooden object, before effortlessly catching it.

He takes a bow to them and says, "Thank you, folks! I'll be here all night!"

It takes much determination and willpower to prevent my hand from smacking my forehead. And I'm running out.

"Shinsuke!" Gaomon suddenly exclaims, almost throwing my heart out of my body. "You're her- Mmph!" I cover his mouth.

"Don't make a sound! Do you want us to get caught?" I whisper loudly. Gaomon shakes his head and, I remove my hand, moving towards the web binds. Taking a nearby stick, I use the sharp edges to cut through the silky smooth surfaces of the web, ripping it slowly bit by bit. Eventually, the web untangles and frees Gaomon from its hold.

"... Have you gone mad, prey? Has everyone gone crazy here?! Stop gawking at him and chase him already, Kunemon!" Flymon shouts with much frustration.

I don't have much time!

"Gaomon, help me untie him!"

"Alright."

He pulls onto the web and breaks it off the tree without resistance, bringing along some splinters and wood chips in it. Gazimon nearly slumps down from the tree, still in a very disoriented state.

"What happened to him?" I ask Gaomon, feeling a bit worried about the other Digimon.

"Flymon knocked him out with a spray of poison gas. He's normally resistant to its effects, but too much of it is-"

"Ahhh!" I hear the albino boy scream. Swirling to the back, I see the crowd of Kunemon and Flymon start to chase after the boy once again. He's doing his part too well!

"K-Keita? Was that Keita's scream I heard?" Gazimon starts to talk, rising with shaky legs that could barely hold his weight. His red eyes flicker to the sight of the boy, apparently known as Keita, running away with the Digimon on his tail. They widen.

"Keita!" He lurches forward, only for Gaomon to catch him before he falls. He breathes heavily, his body rising and sinking slowly. "Darn...!"

"You're in no position to fight, Gazimon!" Gaomon says, slowly releasing the purple canine Digimon.

"I know, but Keita is in trouble! Do you expect me to wait around and let Flymon take him?!" He tries to move forward, but I stop him this time, standing in front of the restless and reckless Digimon.

His body shivers slightly. But, Gazimon keeps his glare, training his narrowed eyes on me. "Move aside, human!" He swings his claw to the right, brushing the air in front of me. However, I stand my ground.

"I'm not letting you go fight aimlessly. At the very least, listen to my plan!" I say, trying to convince the other.

"...Tch. Hurry up and spit it out!" He folds his arms. Whew! I actually convinced him to listen to me!

"Alright, alright. Here's the plan..."

* * *

***Keita's POV***

"I never should have played bait!" I scream, dashing through the forest in a random direction. The scenery grows to be more unfamiliar to me as I continue to run, the trees now becoming more plentiful and, the bushes popping up more often.

I'm just going to have to hope that Shinsuke managed to free Gazimon and Gaomon and that they're coming to rescue me right now!

"I grow tired of your running acts, prey!" Her voice suddenly shifts in volume, as the buzzing noises sound right behind me. One look behind, and I might be witness to the most horrifying sight of a bee ever.

"Agh!" A slam to my back pushes me down to the grass, knocking the air straight out of me. I try to stand, but another fast blow sends me off towards the trees, tumbling and rolling through the dirt and sticks. I collide with the trees with a thump, sinking down the trunks as I lay down, defeated. My eyes open, just to see Flymon menacingly approach me in slow motion.

Is this it? No, that can't be right. I shouldn't be dying here!

But, I can't move an inch. Everything feels sore, every muscle refusing to listen to a single command.

Damn it! What would Keita do in this situation?!

 **"... He'd fight her!"** ' **I** ' answer my question, the cold feeling returning and taking over my body quickly. Rising on ' **my** ' feet, ' **I** ' take another stick from the ground and operate it like a sword, holding it in front of ' **me** '.

"Hahaha! What is this? A little wooden sword for my little prey? Hahaha!" She laughs, mocking me. However, ' **I** ' only smirk at the monstrous bee. " **At least this stick can hurt people. Your blows are like a bothersome fly!** "

She stops laughing.

"... Try saying that again!" Flymon instantly vanishes, only appearing once again directly in front of ' **me** '. She goes in for the smack, aiming for ' **my** ' side. ' **I** ' instantly slam the stick down on her face, interrupting her attack and causing her to flinch. Then, ' **I** ' deliver another knee to her chin, knocking her upwards in the air while also hitting a hard spot. Flymon retreats back to her original place. Her non-existent eyes narrow at **'me',** pincers opening and shutting in anger.

"Argh! That is it! No more playing nice. I'll bring you to my territory!" She disappears once again. ' **I** ' go on guard, darting ' **my** ' eyes around in every direction and waiting for her reappearance. Suddenly, something grabs ' **me** ' from above! Looking to the side, ' **I** ' see yellow talons clench ' **my** ' sides tightly, as ' **I** ' rocket from the ground to the air in less than a second.

**"Shit, she's doing an aerial attack?!"**

"Welcome to my actual territory, prey! Do not worry, I will not finish you off here... _just need to let off my steam."_

In an instant, she throws ' **me** ' further in the air. The wind roars in ' **my** ' ears, masking the buzzing noises of Flymon as she zips past ' **me** '. With each zip she does, a blow connects with ' **my** ' body, tossing ' **me** ' further down to the ground. At this point, the only thing ' **I** ' could do is waving ' **my** ' stick around wildly, hoping that it would strike her.

"Grk!" The stick hits Flymon's head on the mark, stopping her persistent attacks. "Grrr! Die!" She smacks ' **my** ' shoulders, propelling ' **me** ' faster downward. ' **I** ' crash into the ground, small smoke clouds erupting around ' **me**. Pain takes over every inch of ' **me** ', only to be suppressed by the effects of adrenaline pumping into ' **my** ' blood.

"So, prey." I snap my neck towards her as the cold feeling vanishes quickly. "Have any last words?" She towers above me, casting her shadow upon me and blocking the light from reaching me.

All I can see is a monster.

"W-Well-" Before I could utter my final words, a stick suddenly flies in from my east direction, slapping Flymon's body. It rebounds with a clang, dropping to the ground.

"Who was that?!" Flymon and I turn to where the stick came from, only to see trees covering the individual. Another one comes again, this time from behind me, wooshing past my side and hitting Flymon on the pincers.

"Ow!" She shakes her head, lowering it for a moment.

"Keita, over here!" A familiar voice whispers loudly from where the stick was thrown. In my confusion and daze, I could only follow the source of the voice that called my name, escaping from the monstrous bee through the thick and lush bushes. My crawling goes to running as I fling myself into the bushes.

Darkness envelops me, hiding me away from that outside of it. Within it, an individual crouches in front of me, sticking their hand towards me. Upon a closer look, I recognise them to be Shinsuke, who held the same worried look from when we first met.

"Are you okay? You look really, really beaten up." He says with a concerning tone, rubbing my shivering back.

"S-Shinsuke...!" I had to hold myself back from shouting as I shot my head up to meet his turquoise eyes.

"Y-Yes?"

"You don't actually hate me, right?" My question throws him off-guard as his eyes widen.

"W-What?! Where did you get the idea that I hated you?" He answers my question with another question, looking quite confused.

I slowly move into a sitting position as I explain. "Well, you've been giving me pissed-off looks from the start. And you've scolded me too. So..."

Shinsuke's jaw falls. "Y-You... That does not mean I hate you, Keita! I've just been stressed about the situation that we're in, so I looked grumpy. You can't expect me to be happy, right? And I only scolded you, not because I didn't like you, but because you nearly blew our cover." He explains, still keeping his sulky expression on.

"Oh... I guess I had the wrong idea the whole time." I sheepishly say, the feeling of shame returning back to me.

Out of nowhere, a giggle sounds.

"Hehehe... Hahaha!" The giggle turns to laughter, which belongs to that of Shinsuke. The boy laughs as if he hasn't laughed for a long time, covering his mouth as he did. "Man, I thought Gaomon was worse, but you really take the cake for being one of the biggest fools on earth!"

Fool? Whatever that word is, it doesn't sound like a compliment. But, for some reason, it gives a smile on the boy's face, taking away his sulky expression.

Suddenly, a stinger flies above our heads, striking the tree next to us.

"I know you are there, prey! Stop playing hide-and-seek with me!" Flymon says, reminding me of the situation that we were still in. How did I even forget that?

Shinsuke grabs my hand as the two of us stand up. "We need to head back to the circular area, where Gazimon and Gaomon are. Right now, they should be finished with the Kunemo-" Another stinger comes by, narrowly missing the two of us by half an inch and cutting the boy's words.

Yeah, maybe not speaking is a good idea!

* * *

"Just how accurate is she? And how many of those does she even have?!" Shinsuke exclaims as the two of us rush back to the circular area. Stingers of brown colouring fly at us from the sides, nearly hitting us on multiple occasions. By some luck, we managed to avoid them all, but it sounds like Flymon is ready to charge into the sides soon.

"I know you're out of breath, prey! Come out, and I may choose to end your life swiftly!" The Digimon says, firing off another stinger. She is right about one thing. I'm only able to run because Shinsuke is leading me by the hand, but I barely got any moments to catch my breath. Stopping now is just going to allow a new hole for us.

And that's what fueled my will to run all this while.

"Just a little bit longer... Ah!" Shinsuke trips over something, stumbling forward. He loses his balance and falls, dragging me down by the hand with him. As we did, a stinger flies in front of us instead.

"Huff... Huff... Oh thank god, I fell." The boy mutters under his breath. He quickly rises to his feet while I struggle to even get on my knees. Come on, legs! Don't fail me now!

"Alright, that is it! I have had it with this game!" Buzzing noises charge towards us, ramming into the trees we hid behind. Talons slice the trunks clean off their roots, revealing Flymon behind them. It looked like something out of a horror movie when the Digimon raises her talons to her neck and makes a slicing motion while saying,

"Found you."

Fear dawns upon me as I freeze up. I could no longer force my body to move again, even if I wanted to. Even if I just want to wake up from this long nightmare and forget about it all, I couldn't.

Because this is real. The pain, the fear and the horror... they're all real.

Shinsuke takes his steps backwards until he reaches the pierced tree. His legs turn to jelly, threatening to drop him at any moment.

"You are probably the first-ever prey that troubled me for this long. However, these games have come to an end. Now, succumb to me!" She approaches us menacingly, her tongue slipping out and dripping its saliva on the grass.

I close my eyes, no longer wanting to see the reality in front of me.

"Get your damn tongue away from my partner!"

"What he said!"

Two voices, belonging to Gazimon and Gaomon respectively, sound out, grabbing all of our attention. The moment I open my eyes, I'm greeted by the sight of Gazimon uppercutting Flymon from under her and Gaomon hitting her from the sides.

"Agghhh!" She screams, reeling away once again from the two Digimon. "H-How?! I had you two tied up! And even then, you would have to go through my army of Kunemon."

Gazimon gives his iconic smirk. "Oh, that army? Psh, Gaomon and I trapped them all in a pitfall." He glances over towards Shinsuke for a moment before turning back to Flymon.

"Though, they did put up some resistance... I'm still a bit stunned from all the webs." Gaomon mutters to himself, swinging his arms.

"Of all the timings, you two had to choose the ones where Keita and I were near to death?" Shinsuke says with a sigh of relief at the end. He then stumbles over to me and stretches a hand out to me.

I take it, using his support to lift myself off the ground.

"Partner, sorry for being late..." His ears fall flat to his side once again.

"Hey, at least you're here! Better late than never, right?"

I swear I don't know what would have happened if they were late by a few more moments!

"Oi! Just because you outnumber me, it does not mean I still can not take you two on! It is two rookies against one champion!" Flymon shouts, claws to the front. "I will make sure each and every one of you regret treating me as a fool and messing with my children!"


	11. Light of Digivolution

"Keita, you're hurting my arm..." Shinsuke mumbles to me, his voice barely a whisper when I'm just beside him. We both couldn't- no, didn't dare speak out in this situation. The atmosphere around us is suffocating and heavy; the silence crushes us under its hold; the glares between the three of them intensifies. Trees loom over us, creating a dim environment, where the dark shades of the Digimon are my only identification.

"Die!" Flymon lets out a yell, propelling herself with her thin wings towards the two Digimon. Talons out, she thrusts them horizontally against the two rookies, pushing them back through the dirt, then down to the ground. She goes for a stab, but Gazimon tears the grass into Flymon's face. The monstrous fly recoils back. Following up with the blinding attempt, Gaomon rises to his feet, punches the other square in the pincers and lands a backhand on the same spot, thrusting her back.

Flymon stabilizes herself with a strong beat of her wings. She takes to the sky, going out of everyone's views, leaving Gazimon and Gaomon to look up. Suddenly, pincers rain down from the sky, stabbing into the ground and disappearing into particles.

"Yikes!" Shinsuke yelps, as one of the pincers, fall right next to us. Glancing towards me, he mutters, "You didn't hear that."

"Oh, I sure did," I smirk, enjoying the boy's expression turning to a frown once more.

"Hey, don't get stabbed by these things!" Gazimon warns us, bringing our sights back to the battle. "They turn you purple, then crumble your body into pieces!" The canine Digimon explains, running around on all fours, along with Gaomon, to evade these pincers.

My face starts to turn blue.

C-Crumble into pieces? Pieces?! You're telling me that these pincers not only can impale you, but they can wither your body away?! Ah... I'm thankful to have lived through that barrage of pincers with Shinsuke.

Flymon comes into view once more, rocketing towards the two rookies once more with her claws out. The two Digimon were tired out from running and avoiding the pincers, so they couldn't move out of the way. Instead, Gazimon points himself at Flymon and goes into focus.

"Electric Stun Blast!" He shouts, shooting out an electric, yellow ball towards Flymon.

It collides with her, stunning the monstrous fly and causing her to drop from the sky. Unable to move, she smashes into the ground, a cloud of dust forming around her.

"We have to end this quick..." Gazimon says. "I'll distract her. You barrage her." And with a nod of agreement from Gaomon, the two of them carry out their plan. The purple canine digs through the ground quickly while the other runs forward. In this same moment, my ears catch rustling noises from the side, near the entrance to this area. Shinsuke notices it too, the two of us turning to the side.

"You heard it too, right?" He whispers to me. "I don't think I'm going crazy from this yet."

With a shaky voice, I reply, "Y-Yeah..."

There's already a monster of an enemy in front of us, we don't need another! Shinsuke moves forward, and with my hand gripping onto his arm tightly, I move as well. The two of us walk gently, our footsteps barely making a sound as they glide over the grass blades. The trees shift pass us, the light peeks in from the entrance to this fighting area, and in our sight, we see the 'monster' causing the frightful noises that kept us on our toes.

It was three injured Kunemon slithering in.

"Oh thank god, it was just some Kunemon..." Shinsuke heaves a sigh of relief as my grip on his arm loosens. I take a sigh of relief as well. Geez, I thought it was another boss monster...

"Aargh!" Flymon screams once more, directing our attention towards the fight. A still scene of Gazimon upper-cutting Flymon from directly below with a hole beneath the two and Gaomon coming in with a flurry of punches plays out into motion. The monstrous bee is pushed back once more, barely hovering above the grass now.

"They're doing it. Those two are actually doing it!" I speak out, a smile coming onto my face.

Flymon hovers to the right, turning our view of the fight to the side. Gazimon and Gaomon follow suit and the three Kunemon come up just behind the two rookies, their shadows covering the worm Digimon.

"Not so mighty and tough now, eh?" Gazimon says in his usual arrogant tone, folding his arms together.

"Make that payback for our last fight!" Gaomon follows up with a similar tone of arrogance.

Flymon stays quiet, not responding to the comments with any comebacks. She only lifts her pincer up and faces it to the rookies, muttering something to herself. However, my ears catch her last words.

"... Do not be so cocky." She fires the brown pincer. It accelerates through the air, moving straight with precision towards Gazimon and Gaomon. The two Digimon spot her attack and duck away, leaving the pincer to strike something else behind them.

A piercing sound rings out.

Everyone goes silent once more, staring at something which we never expected to happen. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either. It doesn't look like it would affect anyone, yet it did for everyone.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaah! No, no, no... NO!" Flymon shrieks, her voice nearly cracking from the pitch and the emotion. She struggles to fly towards them, her body wavering to the side and, her wings barely beating fast enough to keep her afloat. Gazimon and Gaomon only stood there, shocked like the rest of us.

Flymon takes the Kunemon up in her claws, their bodies slowly turning to purple. They twitch and turn, but they didn't make a sound at all. All they did was stare at Flymon.

"No, wake up! Please! Y-You aren't dead! I n-never hit you at all! Why are you looking at me like that? Please... Don't look at me like I'm a killer..." For the first time, the monster's words, the one who tried to kill us all, struck something in me.

Oh, guilt. You've always returned to me time and time again. It's the only feeling that has stuck by me throughout my time here, and it's been eating away at me. It makes me feel bad, feel like I've done something wrong, feel like I should never have been born.

But I can't blame it, because I really did make a mistake.

And that was choosing to come here.

The Kunemon's bodies rot away quickly, despite the cries and protests of Flymon, whose voice beats about repeatedly in this dim, dense forest. Soon, their bodies became white particles. They circle around Flymon, who stops altogether, lowering herself to the grass.

My grip loosens on Shinsuke's arm, no longer seeing the Digimon as a threat.

"We should get out of here." I whisper to the boy. He flinches from suddenly hearing my voice, but he recovers from it. His face holds a deep frown, one that doesn't seem to express sorrow for himself, but for others instead.

Was this what 'mourning for others' meant? Maybe so.

"Yeah... It's better to leave her to grieve." He says, still staring at the Digimon. The two of us move to Gazimon and Gaomon, who still stood in place, staring at the depressed Flymon with guilty expressions. Gazimon especially.

I guess they understand how I feel about this too... If we weren't here, would any of this have happened?

I place my hand on Gazimon's shoulder, feeling his light trembling. "When Digimon die..." Gaomon starts to speak. "We always revert back to our egg forms. If so, why aren't they becoming eggs? W-Why are they only particles...?" His voice nearly breaks as he wipes his eyes with his gloves.

Shinsuke grabs the Blue Digimon by the shoulders and brings him towards himself, laying the Digimon against his body in an attempt to comfort him.

"Not all Digimon can revert back to being eggs, Gaomon... Their very core had been shattered by her attack. The shock was too much for them." Gazimon maintains his voice, speaking in a low and serious tone. He refuses to turn around and face me but allows me to hold onto his shoulder.

"That's not fair..."

"When was it ever fair? It's not the first time we saw someone die." Anger starts to slowly take the canine Digimon's words.

"Let's take this outside, you two. We shouldn't still be here." Shinsuke tries to quell the saddened Gaomon and the angry Gazimon, whereas I couldn't even form a sentence to speak out.

I give one last look at Flymon and nearly got the shock of my life. The Queen Bee Digimon glares straight at us, her wings unmoving and the white particles surrounding her. They emanate from the entrance to this pathway and slowly begin to circle her, but she doesn't reject them nor attempt to get away from it.

"What?" The others notice as well.

"It's all your fault." Flymon begins to say. "It's all your fault. It's all your fault. It's all your fault. IT'S ALL YOUR DAMN FAULT!" She rises from the grass, the white particles following her. "You're the reason they died, you're the ones who killed them! You're the ones who slaughtered my family! And now... **I'll exterminate you**."

As soon as she says that, the white particles start to quickly loop around Flymon, gathering in large amounts, and gets absorbed by the monstrous fly. A white cocoon encloses the Digimon, shining a blaring light and blinding all of us.

"What's happening?!" Shinsuke asks, covering his eyes with his arm.

"This is... the light of Digivolution!" Gaomon answers, equally surprised.

"The light of what?"

"Death." The cocoon of light dissipates, revealing an entirely new Digimon in its wake. Its form takes on a stag beetle with a silver coating, pincers for arms and four legs, instead of having no limbs. The purple, illusionary wings from earlier have been replaced by two pairs of ordinary, yet bigger ones. Red markings of unusual designs surround the Digimon's body.

Is this even the same Digimon anymore? It looks completely different!

Gazimon and Gaomon step back, pushing against the two of us. Their bodies tremble vigorously, upon seeing this new Digimon. Whatever that is, it's definitely not good news for us.

"Is that even Flymon anymore?" I ask, taking a step back as well.

"No, that's not Flymon." Gazimon shakes his head. "She just digivolved into Okuwamon, an Ultimate Digimon! We stand no chance now!"

"Raawrgh!" It lets out a vicious roar before disappearing. It then reappears in front of us and grabs the two Digimon by its pincers, lifting them off the ground. We couldn't even react before Okuwamon races to the sky once more and flings the two Digimon in the air. Pincers open, it propels itself with its wings and zips past them several times, slicing their bodies each time. Then, with a tremendous blow, the insect Digimon knocks them down instantly to the ground. Gazimon and Gaomon both lay on the ground in front of us, cuts surrounding their body.

"Ga-" Okuwamon lands back on the ground, stomping the two Digimon with its feet. At that moment, I thought I heard something crack.

"Gck!" The two rookies gasp for breath under its hold.

There was only a tiny bit of distance between Okuwamon and us. We couldn't run anywhere, we couldn't even dare fight it head-on, and no one else is going to save us. It's only the two humans versus a monster of an insect.

"Shinsuke, please tell me you have a plan against this thing." I glance over to him with hope. However, he doesn't answer me back. He stares at the Digimon in front of us with wide eyes, his breathing going slightly erratic and his body shivering lightly. It's obvious.

We stand no chance against this Digimon.

"Raaargh!" Okuwamon roars at us, making my ears go deaf. The two of us were frozen in place, unable to take a step back or look away from the monster. We could only watch as Okuwamon's mouth opens wide and leans towards us, its tongue moving out as well.

"Meteor Wing!"


	12. Birdramon's Descent

Just moments before our faces gets devoured by Okuwamon, a voice shouts out, "Meteor Wing!" from the sky, which stops the Digimon's actions immediately. It shifts towards the source and seems to be searching for the location of the voice. It goes on for a while before the Digimon freezes in place and starts to speak.

"Birdramon! Darn it, why are they here so fast?" I didn't think I would ever hear Okuwamon say anything else other than 'death' or roaring, but here I am listening to it. Though eyeless, the Digimon was visibly troubled, snapping away with its pincers.

"He's going to burn down my home at this rate! But I can't just..." Okuwamon suddenly turns to look at us. I stare back at it with a blank look, hoping that it would just go away from us or something. My prayers came true as the insect Digimon whirls to the sky, spreading its white wings out and beats the air with them.

It lifts its rather heavy body off the two Digimon and flies to the sky, sparing two dumbfounded children and their half-dead partners. It was only then I could finally breathe as I splutter for air.

"Oh, god, I can finally breathe again!" Gaomon quickly sits up, taking in the air as if it was his last breath. Gazimon, on the other hand, just flips over on his back, calmly breathing in.

"How are we alive?! Shinsuke, tell me, how are we alive?!" The blue dog Digimon crawls over to his human partner and shakes him by the legs. However, Shinsuke doesn't respond. In fact, he hasn't said anything for a while now.

Gaomon stops shaking him. "Umm... Shinsuke?"

The boy suddenly wavers to the side and falls limply, landing on me. "Whoa!" I barely react before nearly getting pushed to the ground by his fall.

"Shinsuke!" Gaomon rises to his feet and rushes over.

Okay, I have an unconscious boy in my arms right now. It's not the first time I've carried him, but my mind wasn't clear then and it just sort of happened. Someone tell me how to approach this!

He's still breathing, but his skin is pale, almost as white as my hair. He also seems to be trembling slightly and, his body is cold to touch. Conclusion? I don't know.

"What's wrong with him? Why did he suddenly collapse?" Gaomon asks the same questions which are running through my mind, unanswered. His bright, yellow eyes gaze at me, pleading me for answers. It's so hard to resist them! But what do I say?

"Move aside, let doctor Gazimon handle this." The canine Digimon walks over with a proud look and, his chest puffed out.

"Since when were you a doctor?"

"Since now. Here's my ID." He flashes me a leaf with man-made claw marks spelling out, 'Dcr'.

Huh, so that's a legitimate ID card for a doctor? I didn't know.

"Gazimon, that's not-" The doctor cuts him off by putting a finger to his mouth.

"Shhh. Do you want the diagnosis or not?"

The two of us nod, not knowing what the word 'diagnosis' meant. Gazimon stretches his claws out, cracks the bones in them and moves over to Shinsuke, proceeding to inspect the unconscious boy with much focus. After a minute or so, numbness starts to take over my already damaged arms.

"Are you done yet?" I ask, tired from waiting for seemingly an eternity.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm done." The canine Digimon says, looking over to Gaomon and me with another proud look.

"As such," he takes a professional tone. "I have come to a fascinating conclusion that this dear patient of yours is... merely exhausted. He's just really, really tired from all the fights from Fly- Okuwamon. As for the trembling, I guess he feels cold."

"You guess?" I raise an eyebrow at him.

"Hey, I never said I was a professional!"

Before I could question Gaziomon any further, a booming sound resounds through Kunemon's Bed, shaking the ground we stand on. The three of us topple down with gravity.

"Oh, give us a break already! What now?!" Gazimon irritatedly shouts. A gust of wind blows over our heads, bringing my attention to the sky. There, a bird coated in orange flames has its distance from the earlier insect Digimon, Okuwamon. Behind the flaming bird, several smaller, pink birds fly behind it, though they're struggling to do so.

"That's Birdramon, right? What is it doing all the way out here?" Gaomon identifies the Digimon for me as all three of us share the same view.

"Birdramon... Wasn't Okuwamon saying something about it? Like, how he mentioned that Birdramon was burning down his home?" Gazimon says, turning to us.

Home? Wait a minute...

"Isn't Okuwamon's home supposed to be Kunemon's Bed?"

Questions after questions, yet they manage to provide an answer for each other. We look to the entrance to this pathway.

Orange flames greet us for the first time, devouring the trees instantly and growing into a larger size as it aims to envelop the whole of Kunemon's Bed. They hadn't reached the narrow pathway yet, but at this rate, they may eat it up soon.

"F-Fire?! We better run for it!" Gaomon goes into a running position.

"We really can't catch a break at all, can we?" Gazimon goes on all fours, stretching his body behind. Carrying Shinsuke on my back, I made sure his arms are around my neck.

This will, hopefully, be my last running marathon for the day. I don't know how much longer my body can last.

* * *

"Gah, it feels like I'm being cooked alive!" I cry out, running through this absurdly narrow pathway. Who even thought of making this kind of path? Despite my best efforts, I still lag behind the two Digimon, who's busy yelling and screaming for their lives while running. Actually, being behind is now perfectly okay. It's better to have these flames chasing nearer to me than to hear them scream out their throats.

The once purple leaves were burnt to a crispy black, showing almost no trace of ever being a leaf at all. Orange flames engulf the trees beside me. They try to reach out towards the ground and lick me with their heat, as I imagine a face of joy in the fire. Sweat drips down my face, occasionally going into my eyes, as my clothing soaks it up and Shinsuke's breath against my neck brings me many goosebumps.

I will never, ever wish this experience upon anyone, not even you or your worst enemy.

"Graargh! Stop it!" A third yell joins the Digimon chorus for yelling, sounding just above. I spare a look at the sky and witness a brief moment of the fight between Okuwamon and Birdramon. The insect Digimon looks tired out, its body wavering in flight while Birdramon flaps its wings with ease, having a flock of pink birds behind it. It's obvious who's going to be the victor in this fight.

"Consider this payback for your little ambush last time, Okuwamon." Birdramon takes a prideful tone in its voice, raising its wings to the side. The pink birds behind it chant, 'Yeah!' and 'Meanie!', all except for one pink bird. In fact, that bird looks very confused, as if it just got a pair of wings to flap about with. It could barely keep itself in flight, given how many times it almost dropped or lagged behind the flock.

"Partner! We're nearly there!" Gazimon brings my eyes back to the ground. "It's just a few seconds away!"

" **Yeah, just don't go back into screech mode, or I'll never be able to reach there.** " The other voice speaks, enveloping my body in coldness for one second before disappearing again. Huh, he's been slipping into my voice a lot more often and with much ease too. I wonder if that's a good thing...

Gazimon and Gaomon stopped their screeching, something I didn't think I would be really grateful for. The nearer we got to the exit, the smaller the flames became, barely any signs of burn damage or fire anywhere on the flammable trees. However, there weren't any Kunemon either. It was just the three of us and some broken eggs on the path.

And just as I thought of that, Okuwamon broke my thoughts apart as it crashed right in front of us. Gazimon and Gaomon managed to stop in time and, I was too far behind to even be affected by it. The insect Digimon lays on the ground, scorch marks littering its silver body and having only one pincer with it. Birdramon flies in and attempts to set off another attack when it notices us.

The majestic orange bird stops its attack.

"Two rookies and... humans?!" Its blue eyes narrow on Shinsuke and me. Well, this is uncomfortable. "You two do not seem to be inhabitants of Kunemon's Bed. Are you trespassers?"

"Ye-" Gazimon elbows Gaomon in the stomach, preventing him from speaking any further.

"Nah, we got kidnapped by Okuwamon here. We were only trying to escape." Gazimon lies through his teeth, keeping a calm tone.

Birdramon narrows its eyes once more. It takes a moment to look at the two Digimon, then at Shinsuke and me again.

"Hm, what do you think?" The majestic bird turns to its flock and asks its question. Most of the pink birds respond with a chant of, 'Spare them!' while some chant, 'Dubious'. Once again, the same pink bird doesn't say anything, still looking very confused. Instead, it takes notice of me and begins to stare at me with its sapphire eyes.

I try to ignore it, but there isn't much to look at in this path. There's only trees, burnt trees, half-burnt trees, broken eggs, not broken eggs, Birdramon and those two Digimon. Yeah, they aren't that interesting to look at.

Birdramon turns back to us. "My flock deems to spare you, so spare I shall. May we meet again in another-"

"Raargh!" Okuwamon suddenly comes to life, roaring away. It catches all of us off-guard, taking the opportunity to grab Birdramon's neck with its pincer.

"Hgghk! Y-You...!" The phoenix Digimon struggles to speak as Okuwamon's pincer tightens its grip on its neck. The pink birds try to save their leader, spewing out a spiral green flame. They make contact with the Digimon's body, but they barely left any mark on it.

"Attack again, and your leader goes." Okuwamon threatens, gripping tighter to back up its threat. The pink birds back away unwillingly, keeping its distance from the insect Digimon.

"That's so low..." Gaomon whispers, making sure his voice couldn't be heard by it.

"Well, at least we're lucky to not be at the receiving end of that pincer." Gazimon says in a rather cold tone.

"How could you just say that? Birdramon saved us from Okuwamon!" I argue, glaring at my partner.

Gazimon stares back. "Yeah, I know that. But, we aren't in any shape to fight! We're better off staying quiet and staying out of this fight. Right, Gaomon?"

The two of us look to the blue dog Digimon for his final opinion. His yellow eyes flicker between the two of us, then to Okuwamon and Birdramon before finally setting them on the cowering pink birds.

"... Let's save them!" He makes up his mind.

I cheer to myself while Gazimon grunts loudly.

"Yeah, let's just throw our lives away again after narrowly escaping the first fight. Such a smart idea..." The canine Digimon mutters to himself bitterly, folding his arms and flicking his tail wildly about. "So, what smart ideas do you two have?"

"I didn't get to that stage yet..." I sheepishly say. I'm not good with any of this planning stuff. The only one that would definitely be good with it is busy being unconscious and sleeping on my back.

"Well... What if we try to loosen Okuwamon's grip on Birdramon? We can distract it with your Electric Stun Blast while I go in with some melee attacks." Gaomon suggests. "It worked on Flymon pretty well!"

Though I find the idea quite good, Gazimon only scoffs at it, shaking his head. "First off, that's not Flymon, it's Okuwamon right now. Second, what makes you think I would put myself in danger by distracting it while you attempt to pry open the pincer? That Digimon could easily snap Birdramon's neck in an instant, if it decides to, or lunge at me and throw me into the fires! We need a guaranteed success plan, not something superficial!" Gazimon completely shuts down the plan with a huff and a bitter tone, causing Gaomon to shrink away and stay silent.

"Hey, you didn't have to shout at him for that." I say lightly, feeling sorry for the boxer Digimon. However, my partner ignores my words and continues on.

"If you really want this plan to work, then we're going to need more than one source of distraction." I try to raise my hand and volunteer, but the canine Digimon expects that and turns to me immediately. "And I am not endangering my partner for this!"

"Hey! You don't have to be so overprotective of me! I can handle myself just fine!" Sure, I may not be the most athletic person out there, but I can at least defend myself and fight. He doesn't have many rights to restrict me from doing this!

I was about to enter another argument with Gazimon when a pink bird suddenly drops in between us, nearly causing me to fall backwards. Though, it was funny seeing Gazimon and Gaomon jump out of their skins because of this. Their surprised looks are priceless!

"Argh, why can't I even fly straight?!" the pink bird Digimon complains, sitting up and rubbing the top of its head with its wing. It then takes notice of us, standing up immediately.

"Oops! Did I get in the way of your discussion?"

Again, I'm surprised that this Digimon was capable of stringing words to a sentence since all I've ever heard from it was just chants of words.

"It's okay, the discussion was already going to end with no plan in mind." Gazimon bluntly says, shrugging his shoulders.

"No plan?!" The Digimon's eyes almost boggle out of its head as it flaps its wings in agitation. "Weren't you guys discussing just now?!"

"Well..." Gaomon starts to speak again, though timidly. "We can't do it alone. We need someone to play a second distraction to make it work."

For a moment, the Digimon's sapphire eyes radiated a blue glow in them. "You just need a second distraction only?! I'm happy to help-" We immediately pull down the pink bird Digimon to the ground, clasping its beak close with my hand. I look over my shoulder, seeing if Okuwamon had noticed anything. Thankfully, it retains its same position, resting on the ground to recover from all the injuries sustained. Birdramon seems to be holding on as well, but it doesn't look like it can keep it up any longer.

"I'm happy to help..." It says in a softer voice.

Gaomon and I glance to Gazimon for agreement, hoping that he would agree with the plan. He stares back for a second, before finally giving up and with an exasperated sigh, he reluctantly says, "Fine. Let's do this."


	13. A well-deserved break

"Did everyone get that? We can't slip up here, you know." Gazimon reaffirms, repeating his question and plan for the second time already. The three of us nod our heads once more.

In the dense forest, where the fires rage and swallow, we're coming face-to-face with the fallen Queen of Data Forest for our last battle and, hopefully, get our well-earned break from all of this. My body has been urging my muscles to stop working and rest, but I've been pushing them to accomplish this last task. Shinsuke had already done his part, so it's up to us to put an end to this drawn-out fight.

Huh, monologuing like this actually relaxes my mind.

Laying the unconscious boy against a barren tree far from the flames, I return back to the group of Digimon, taking a glance at Okuwamon. The insect Digimon seems to be rising from the ground to its feet, though rather slowly, and Birdramon is starting to lose consciousness as well.

"Piyomon, Keita! Let's go!" With his call, the pink bird Digimon, identified as Piyomon, soars into the air, just as Gazimon and I rush towards the insect Digimon. As soon as we were close to it, we split away from each other, Gazimon taking the right direction while I take the other.

Okay, I'm up first. What can I say that would anger it?

"Hey, Okuwamon!" I shout at the top of my lungs, barely grabbing its attention as it turns its head towards me. "Your breath stinks!"

... That was the best I could come up with. You try shouting a random insult to this ferocious insect then!

"... Really? Of all the things, you choose my breath? What was that even supposed to accomplish?" Nevertheless, I manage to get Okuwamon to focus on me. In the front, Gaomon charges forward, dashing through the grass like a blue blur.

"Spiral Twister!" Piyomon yells out its attack, releasing a green flame which moves in a spiral direction. It hits Okuwamon square on the head from above, causing the insect Digimon to look up.

"You?! Didn't I tell you what happens to-" Before Okuwamon has a chance to finish its sentence, Gazimon begins his distraction phase, spitting out a yellow ball of electricity. It travels a distance before impacting with the Digimon's white wings, causing Okuwamon to jolt up from the impact. Its body thrusts out, the pincer's grip on Birdramon's neck loosening.

"Go, Gaomon!" The two of us cheer on the last Digimon for this plan, the one who brings it to its fruition. Gaomon reaches the pincer in no time and places his gloves on it. Leaning backwards, he uses his body weight to strengthen his pulling power.

"Hyaargh!"

... But, the pincer doesn't let go.

"... Ever since you came here," Okuwamon rises to its feet, spreading its wings out. "You insolent prey have been getting on my nerves. Trespassing into my territory, disrupting the order, and even made me kill my own children! I'll kill you all!" The insect Digimon goes into a frenzy, letting out a deep roar in the process. Before Gaomon had the chance to react, Okuwamon thrusts its mandibles vertically against the Digimon.

"Agh!" He flies from the top of the rubble to the bark of the unscathed trees, slamming right into the wood with a clear cracking sound. Gaomon slips to the ground, half-conscious. Okuwamon flies towards him, mandibles pointing forward, but Gaomon grabs them before they pierce, struggling to hold back the mandibles which were meters away from his body. Gazimon runs behind the insect Digimon, taking a sharp breath and shouting, "Electric Stun Blast!". He releases the same yellow ball of electricity at the Digimon, going straight at its wings.

"The same tricks won't work again!" With a beat from its wings, Okuwamon pushes his mandibles up, carrying Gaomon with them. Then, with a turn of its head, it throws him directly into the yellow ball, shocking the poor Digimon. He still accelerates in the air and smacks into Gazimon, causing both of them to tumble to the ground.

"Urgh..." The two of them stay down.

"Haha... Hahahaha!" Okuwamon suddenly laughs out of nowhere. It was a burst of crazy and deranged laughter, reminding me of how Keramon giggled back then. I freeze on the spot when Okuwamon turns its head to me, and despite being eyeless, I could feel its hidden eyes pierce into my soul and tear me from within.

"Now what are you going to do, human prey?! Your friends are all down, and your own saviour is being choked to death by me. On your own, you are just a minor prey that can barely be seen or missed by the vast world! Tell me, what are you going to do?!" The monstrous insect grins, showing its sharp teeth in its smile. It moves over to me slowly and bends down towards me, keeping that same smile on its face.

" **There's nothing you can do.** "

* * *

_"Keita, don't come any closer! There's nothing you can do to help me!"_

* * *

Just as the memory streams into my head, pain overwhelms my mind, noise akin to static blaring in my ears. I bend over from it, cupping my ears as I try to stop the pain and static. But it doesn't go away.

None of this is going away.

"H-Help..." I manage to muster out a quiet yelp. "P-Please..." My eyes close shut. "I can't take it anymore..." My knees wobble like jelly. "Kiyo..." Static overruns my ears, blocking out every other noise. "Gazimon..."

"-is this? You- stand? I'm impress-" The insect Digimon's words break apart in my ears, coming into my mind in parts.

"Heh... Even if there's a thousand of you standing in my way, there's no way I'd let anyone of you touch my partner." However, Gazimon's voice was crystal clear in my mind, despite the static. Forcing my eyes to open, I raise my head up and see my partner standing right in front of me. His back is filled with dirt and scrapes, blood oozing out of the critical wounds, and electricity running amock on his reddish-purple fur. Despite all of this, he didn't shake at all, not even in front of Okuwamon.

"No, Gazimon, stop!" I find myself shouting, reaching out to the Digimon. "Don't be reckless!" This is too much. I don't want him to get hurt any further because of me. I don't want to keep getting protected and being led by the hand all of the time!

"Don't worry, human prey. I'll make sure the both of you go down together!" The insect Digimon lunges forward with its mandibles, but Gazimon stands still, unwavering. My hand doesn't reach my partner in time, and gravity pulls me down, leaving me to shout in my head.

No!

"Spiral twister!" Just before Okuwamon reaches us, a group of Piyomon chorus their attack. They release a green, spiralling fire which concentrates on Okuwamon's pincer, a red-hot mark appearing on the silver skin.

"Ow! What-" Okuwamon turns its head to its pincer, only to see Birdramon flapping its wings away from the insect Digimon with a sharp glare in its eyes. The group of Piyomon follow behind Birdramon.

"Grrr, pesky Piyomon! I should have killed them earlier!" The insect Digimon curses, causing Birdramon to be even more furious. The flames on its body burned brighter, as a glint appears in the sapphire eyes of the phoenix Digimon.

"And here I thought you, of all Digimon, would know how it feels like to lose someone who was family." Birdramon speaks in a low tone. The insect Digimon flinches at its words, shaking its head vigorously and stepping backwards. "Grrrrargh!" Okuwamon roars again, spreading its wings out.

It then flies towards Birdramon, charging at it with its mandibles pointed forward. However, the Digimon doesn't flinch at all, only opening its own wings back and shouting,

"Meteor Wing!"

With a flap of its wings, Birdramon releases numerous fireballs, all colliding directly with Okuwamon's silver body. The flames ravage its body, swallowing it up as if it was just a tree. Within seconds, the flaming body falls to the ground from the air, the flames extinguishing to reveal a crispy black Okuwamon. It didn't even scream at all. The insect Digimon neither moved nor made a sound as it sprawls on the ground.

Did we do it? Is Okuwamon finally defeated?

"Finally!" Gazimon lets out a shout, pumping one arm in the air before he stumbles backwards. "The queen's finally down..."

"Gazimon!" I catch him just before he falls to the ground. His upper body lays against my arms, his soft yet sticky hair brushing itself on me. Half-open red eyes stare at me, exhaustion overtaking them.

"Nice catch, partner. Didn't know you were this warm..." Gazimon's words trail off as he gives me a toothy smirk, his body growing heavier on my arms.

"Why're you talking like that?! Don't die on me, Gazimon!" I cry out, trying to shake him awake. However, it doesn't work. I could feel his body going limp on me, his weight increasing in my arms.

"I'm not dying... I'm just tired. Wake me up in a bit, would ya?"

Without any further words, the canine Digimon's arms slip to the side and, his full body weight falls onto my arms, red eyes closing along with them. Okay, no worries, Keita. He's just sleeping. He said it himself. This isn't like those scenes in those shows where people died when they said they were going to sleep.

I've been convincing myself that he was sleeping for a very long minute, standing completely still and letting Gazimon sleep in a very awkward position. In fact, I didn't even notice that Gaomon had walked past me until I hear his voice yelling, "Shinsuke!"

I turn my head to see a fully awake Shinsuke standing in front of me with a very shocked expression on his face. With nearly boggling eyes and an open mouth, he walks over to us slowly, while Gaomon holds him by the hand. The boy doesn't even notice the Digimon.

"I... What? What happened?" He asks me, a look of pure confusion on his face. I was about to tell him when I noticed the flames behind him. They were making their move already, eating up the trees and reaching towards us.

"We'll talk later! The place is on fire and, we need to go!"

Shinsuke whirls around and lets out a yelp when he sees them. "Flames?!"

"Ride on me, humans!" Birdramon calls out to us as it lands on the ground. "I can take you out of Data Forest."

"A p-phoenix?! Where did that-... Oh god, nothing makes sense anymore." The boy says, giving up on figuring out this situation.

Welcome to my life, Shinsuke, where I knew nothing about the world for 2 months.

I try to shake Gazimon awake, but he still continues to sleep, so I had to carry him by my back. Pain starts to jolt down my spine, and my movements stagger as I move towards Birdramon. Shinsuke and Gaomon follow behind me in haste.

When I reach the Phoenix Digimon, I was about to climb on to its body when Shinsuke calls out to me, "Wait, wait! You're planning to climb onto that?!"

"Yeah." I answer simply, then proceed to climb onto it again. Shinsuke yanks my arm and pulls me away, nearly causing me to drop Gazimon.

"What was that for?!"

"If you haven't noticed, you're trying to climb onto a bird clothed in flames! What makes you think we won't get burned when this forest is being incinerated by its very flames?" He says, pointing to the flames behind us, then to Birdramon.

"I assure you, human. The flames on my body are safe. I have carried injured Piyomon before on my back." Birdramon reassures, looking over to us. However, Shinsuke still holds a dubious look on his face.

Sigh, I've never met someone so uptight in my life. Or maybe I have. He's almost like Gazimon, in the sense that both of them just want to keep me safe.

"Shinsuke! It's all good up here!" The two of us turn to Gaomon, who sits upon the bird Digimon's back with a gleeful look.

"G-Gaomon?! When did you- What?!" He looks to the side, then to Gaomon multiple times with another shocked face. I almost pity the boy. He's as lost as-

**CRASH!**

One of the tree trunks falls into the flames, starting to burn the grass we were standing on.

Okay, now we really don't have time!

After pushing Gazimon's unconscious body on top of Birdramon's body, I quickly place both my hands on its wings. The flames produce a warm feeling against my fingertips, nothing close to burning hot. Using my legs and hands, I push myself up and nearly roll off its back.

"Whew..." I sigh, already tired from that mini-climb.

Shinsuke climbs up in an instant, sitting comfortably on Birdramon's flaming body. He then proceeds to touch the flames, probably out of curiosity, and lets out another yelp as he did. But, he kept his hands there longer.

"This is just... weird." He simply says, looking everywhere and at everyone.

"Hold tight! I'm taking off!"

Birdramon takes a few leaps off the ground before flapping its wings, rising above the ground, then the trees, all the way into the cotton clouds in a matter of seconds. Kunemon's Bed now looks like several green specks with smaller orange dots rushing through them, while the rest of Data Forest still seemed quite big. Despite being high in the sky, trees surrounded most of my vision, until I see a blanket of blue with brown crystals beside it.

"Ah! We're heading into Shellmon's Territory. Land us there, Birdramon!" Gaomon orders, looking happily towards the ocean with an exciting look. Shellmon? The name is ringing a few bells in my head...

Birdramon looks over to us concerningly. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, yeah!" Gaomon nods his head vigorously.

"I'm in no position to say this, but are you really sure?" Shinsuke asks, doubtful of the Digimon's intentions. The blue dog Digimon pouts and crosses his arms.

"Of course! I've been here longer than you have, Shinsuke. I would know this stuff."

I still can't wrap my head around why the name sounds familiar. Argh, why do the important ones have to sleep when we need them?! Gazimon would surely know about this!

Sigh, I just have to place my trust in Gaomon's sense of direction and knowledge...

* * *

"This may be a bit far from Shellmon's area, but it's safer to land here." Birdramon says, landing at what seems to be the outskirts of Data Forest. The brown pathway ends just where the brown crystals of sand lay, but they couldn't sparkle under any sun. The world was covered in blue darkness, something I couldn't have seen from Kunemon's Bed or the clouds in the sky. I didn't think the Digital World could ever have night time.

"It's so dark out here." Shinsuke says my thoughts out, slipping down from Birdramon's back and walking around. I follow his actions, bringing Gazimon down carefully. The canine Digimon snores in my arms and nuzzles his sticky fur against them. I place the sleeping Digimon against one of the rocks, before walking towards the boy, who stares at the purple sky.

"We must have been in Kunemon's Bed for a long time." I say, walking beside Shinsuke.

He turns to me, an evident glint in his eyes. "I haven't forgotten yet! You're going to tell me everything that transpired there from the moment I went out!" He says in a rather angry tone.

"Okay, but why are you mad?"

"I'm not mad!"

"You're yelling at me. Isn't that supposed to mean you're mad?"

"N-No it doesn't! I just..." His words trail off as a shade of red appears on his face. Ah, there's more evidence of him being angry! But, if I point that out, he's going to be even worse.

"Haha! Your bickering really reminds me of some past humans I've met." Birdramon's words cause both of us to stare in disbelief at it.

What did it just say? Past humans? Birdramon has met humans other than us? That must mean...!

" **Have you seen a little girl?!** " I rush over to the phoenix Digimon, not caring about whose voice I was speaking through. The bird Digimon gets startled as I clasp its face with my hands, bringing me closer to it. " **Did you see Kiyo?!** "

"N-No... I have not seen a 'little girl'. The humans I had met were scientists."

Scientists? No, that was not what I wanted to hear! Birdramon should be telling me about where she is, not about a couple of scientists I don't care about!

"Keita, calm down." I feel Shinsuke's hand on my shoulder. I was about to shrug his hand off when I saw the look he had on his face.

* * *

_"Brother, calm down!" A soft voice says, accompanied by an embrace from behind. I whirl my head to the side. A pair of concerned eyes, holding some semblance of fear, stare back at me. Why does she look so scared of me? What is this sticky feeling in my hands? Ah... Blood._

* * *

The same static noise comes back again, as my body shakes back and forth, along with the world. My pupils move down and see Shinsuke being the one shaking the world. His mouth keeps opening and shutting, but I couldn't hear anything.

"Keit- Keita!" His voice finally registers in my head, gaining volume in an instant.

"Ngh... What?" My head throbs as I speak. "Why are you shouting again?"

"I'm not shouting, I was only calling your name out. More importantly, what was that all about?"

It takes me a moment to figure out what the boy was referring to. Ah right, the earlier outburst... To be honest, I'm not even sure myself. I wasn't the one who initiated it, that would be the other one within me. But if I say all of that to Shinsuke, would he think I'm weird? Crazy, even? No, no, I don't want to destroy our friendship because of that! It took so much effort to get on Shinsuke's nice side, so I don't want to ruin that.

Sigh, I'll just do it this way.

"That was just... I got a little too excited. You see, I came into the Digital World to find my sister but didn't get much luck in the long run. So when Birdramon mentioned meeting other humans, I just wanted to know if it saw my sister!" What started out as a fake emotion turns into real anxiety for me as I spoke. The boy's face softens at my words, and it just plunges the knife further into my heart.

"O-Oh... I'm sorry, Keita. I-I didn't know."

Please stop looking at me with that guilty expression! Any more and the knife is just going to stab me through my body.

In an attempt to avoid his gaze, I turn to Birdramon, who was startled at the sight of me, taking a few steps back. Geez, that other person really messed things up for me here!

"Uh, you can let go of me now."

"Ah! Right..." The boy loosens his grip on my shoulders and steps away from me, giving me space to move. My body ached terribly from legs to the spine to even my head, barely giving me a break from today's torture and suffering. But, I couldn't rest just yet. I turn to Birdramon.

"I-I'm sorry about earlier!" I give a light bow, only bending my head down. "I shouldn't have reacted like that."

The phoenix Digimon seems to ease up at my words, recovering the distance between us. The Piyomon fly beside Birdramon as it slowly walks towards me. With its wing, it raises my head and meets with my eyes. Then, the azure eyes shift between Shinsuke and me.

"You two really look like the humans I've met..." It mutters to itself, but my ears catch its words. Sadly, my brain didn't want to process those words and left it to go out of my head.

"Keita and Shinsuke, was it? It was a pleasure meeting the both of you here today. I'm sorry for the trouble I caused back in Kunemon's Bed, I certainly wasn't going to let Fly- Okuwamon get away so easily. Anyway, I hope your journey in the Digital World goes smoothly!" The phoenix Digimon says in a cheery tone, taking a few steps back.

Just as Shinsuke walks beside me, Birdramon lifts itself off the ground with a giant flap of its wings, rising to the sky once more. The Piyomon chorused a farewell to us as the two of us waved our hands at them. Among the flock, I could catch the Piyomon we were with during our planning session, seeing that it couldn't fly properly. It was staring at Shinsuke with a rather solemn expression, but the boy didn't notice at all.

I can't tell if he's sharp or dense.

"Thanks for your help!" I give a final yell, just as the flock of bird Digimon disappears into the clouds, leaving the four of us in sandy grounds. Well, that's that.

* * *

The day was finally coming to an end, and the night was dawning on us with its starry sky and deep purple colouring. I spent a good 15 minutes explaining to Shinsuke the events that took place in Kunemon's Bed, as we sat by our partner Digimon by the rocks. Unexpectedly, the boy remained calm through our conversation, despite all the bizarre things I mentioned, which tempts me to talk about my situation too. But, I kept that topic hidden.

During our conversation, Gazimon and Gaomon were sound asleep, the canine Digimon still keeping his loud snores. They didn't wake up at all, not even when I was just shouting some parts of the story to Shinsuke. I guess they really must have been exhausted. It was no surprise, seeing how hard they fought against the Kunemon, Flymon and even Okuwamon. Despite all of the heroic acts they do, they still can get tired.

Just recently, Shinsuke asked me more about Kiyo, to which I happily answered. I told him about what she was like, what she had done for me and even about her kidnapping, leaving out the amnesia parts. That was something I would tell him about next time. His replies were sympathetic, just like earlier. Then, he let slip some information about his family life, like how he had two older siblings and a single mother. But, he was reluctant to go any further, so I didn't push him.

All of that leads to now as I lay on the sandy grounds, staring at the twinkling sky. Shinsuke had already gone to sleep much earlier, which left me to be the only one awake. My thoughts drift as my eyes close.

"Kiyo, please be safe." I mutter before going to my well-deserved sleep.


	14. Kiyo the Optimist

**(The following story takes place minutes after Keita and Pagumon entered the Digital World.)**

**Kiyo's POV**

_"What was that noise?!" Gently moving away from my bed, I walk towards my room door and place my ear against it, trying to hear my brother's actions. There was a lot of giggling going on and a lot of thumping noises too. It sounds quite fun down there!_

_Maybe there wasn't anything dangerous in the kitchen after all._

_Itching to join them, I open the door, only to see a very fluffy yellow man-like creature stand in front of me. It was a yellow monkey with a grey face and turquoise eyes, red feathers standing out among its yellow body. It looks rather menacing too..._

_"Um, can I help you?" I ask the tall ape politely, fiddling with my fingers._

_The creature stares at me for a while before breaking out into a smile, moving closer to me. Its shadow envelops me and, before I knew anything else, blackness surrounded me instantly._

* * *

"Mmph..." With a soft groan, my eyes flutter open, taking a few blinks before I could keep them open. A grey, empty ceiling stares back at me. Unfamiliarity takes me in its hold and, I come back into full focus, remembering what had happened earlier.

"The kidnapper! That fluffy yellow creature was it!" I sit up with a start, now looking a brick, grey wall. This place was no longer my house. Instead, it was a place akin to a jail cell, like how the zoo animals are kept in. It was just grey everywhere, except for the beds, toilets and sinks, which shares a white colouring instead. My cell had a lot of tall and thick bars, along with light blue blinds covering it. If it weren't for the light bulb hanging loosely from the ceiling, I wouldn't have been able to see where I was.

One question pops up in my mind. Where am I?

In my wonder, I stumble to the edge of my jail cell and push the blinds to one side, only to be even more bewildered at what was before me. Jail cells, similar to mine, sit in a neat row, spawning through the large room. Each one of them had their blinds closed, like how mine was. Maybe it was sleeping time? That's what mother did for me when it was time for me to sleep. She would shut the windows, pull the curtains and give me a tender good-night kiss before leaving my room.

"Mum..." I mumble to myself. "Oh, she's going to be worried sick when she gets home! And Keita! Maybe he was brought here too..."

"Um..."

I turn away from the blinds, continuing my self-conversation. "If Keita is here, then I need to try and get out of here quickly! Maybe I could try finding for a clip and open the lock to this cell..."

"Hey, please.."

I move to the grey walls, squatting down and searching for a clip. "Nope, not a single one in sight! It's just dust mites everywhere."

"H-Hey!" A soft voice calls out to me. Looking at the blinds, I see a green fish with an orange mohawk and vibrant red eyes. It was standing on 4 small legs and looked rather meek, bending his body away from me.

"A talking fish?" I say, not out of surprise, but out of confusion, blinking my eyes at what I was seeing. First, a yellow monkey, now a fish? In response to my words, the fish goes behind the blinds quickly, peeking out from it.

"I-I'm not a fish... I'm Betamon. E-Everyone's sleeping, s-so could you be a l-little softer...?" The fis-, Betamon, was so soft and quiet, I could barely hear his voice. I get up to move to the green fish, but he retreats further into the blinds, now only showing his orange crest.

"P-P-Please don't come a-any closer to me..." He mutters, holding onto the blinds tightly. I stop where I was, only standing a few meters from the bars.

"Okay, okay." I raise my hands in a calming manner. "I won't come any closer, but could you tell me where I am?"

Betamon leans in from the blinds. His red eyes shift around, checking the cells and the hallway he was in, before setting themselves on me. By then, he moves in much closer and shows his full body again. It really was a talking green fish.

"Y-You're in a holding cell. It's where we put the human kids before they get taken a-away..." Betamon explains, still keeping a soft and meek tone.

"Taken away?" What is that supposed to mean? Maybe they mean that they'll return us home after keeping us here.

"I don't know what h-happens when they g-get taken a-away. M-My job is to only g-guard t-the kids..." He continues to speak with that stutter.

If this fish is guarding the kids, then he must know if Keita was taken here too, right?

Just as I was about to ask him again, I hear another voice call out to Betamon from the other end of the hallway.

"Betamon! What are you doing?!" This voice sounds deep and mature, also loud too since he just shouted. The green fish shrinks away from the blinds, letting go of the purple curtains and causing my cell to be covered again. Heavy footsteps start to sound from just outside of my jail cell, following Betamon's light steps.

"I-I'm sorry, Apemon... The kid woke up and m-made a lot of n-noise so I- Eek!" A single loud thump on the ground silences the green fish, leaving an unsettling quietness in the air. Makes me really want to yank those blinds open... Hehe, that's what Keita would do.

And so I did. Gripping the end of the curtains, I tug it to the left side and create a space wide enough for me to poke my head through. The bars were a bit challenging, but I was able to squeeze my head through them. Though, I hate how cold the metal was! It's making my neck feel really uncomfortable right now.

When I was finally able to turn my head to the left, a gasp nearly escapes my mouth. The fluffy yellow creature was standing there menacingly again! He was in front of Betamon, who was quivering visibly.

"Don't you dare lie to me! I saw you converse with the little kid for a short while. Honestly..." He smacks his head with his big hand. "Why does everyone like to disobey orders like this? First Keramon and that dumb game with the white-haired kid, now you and the little girl..."

My heart nearly drops when I heard Apemon's words. White-haired kid? I'm sure he definitely means Keita! And if that's so, all that noise I heard back home was... my brother resisting the kidnapper. No, maybe he was able to fend off this Keramon character.

"K-Keramon? H-He was playing D-Death T-Tag with a kid?" Betamon asks, trying to switch topics.

"Sigh, yes. And Keramon didn't even win in his own game! I had to drag his unconscious body, along with the little girl, back here. That stupid Digimon only knows how to create troubles for us... Couldn't even bring back two kids because of his foolish and childish actions." Apemon shakes his head as he speaks, obviously disappointed with this Keramon character.

But I wasn't! That means Keita really did fend off the kidnappers! He didn't get taken here at all, so he must be back home. Ah, I'm relieved... My big brother is okay.

"And the best part of all of this?" The yellow fluffy Apemon continues, still complaining to Betamon, who just nods and listens to the other's words. "A Pagumon was there, spouting bullshit about how he was a partner to that white-haired kid! Honestly, out of everything I had to face today, that is the one part that pissed me off the most! Digimon and humans being partners? Hah, that can barely be a joke!"

Betamon laughs dryly.

Oh, there's so much this Apemon character said that it's making my head dizzy. Where do I even start?

"Anyway, stop conversing with the little kid. If the others find you out, they might do worse than just scolding you. Like the Nanimon brothers..." I couldn't see the yellow fluffy Digimon's expression, but I could tell his tone is fearful.

Apemon turns around and, I quickly slip through the bars, hiding behind the blinds. My heart beats in my ears, my breaths going hasty as the thumping noises sound closer and closer. Thankfully, the yellow fluffy Apemon chooses to walk away, leaving me to take a sigh of utter relief.

"A-Are you okay?" Betamon soft voice sounds from the other side of the blinds, calming my heart down. He has a really soothing tone, much liked my father. He always viewed me as his little angel, while Keita would be his devil.

Oh, something got in my eyes... Huh? Why are my hands wet?

"Little girl?"

"I-I'm okay." My voice cracks as I speak, wiping my eyes with my wet hands.

"Are you sure?" He asks again, his voice closer to the blinds. Ah, Betamon's going to get in trouble if he keeps talking with me! I shouldn't keep him here.

"Y-Yes!" I exclaim, a light thump resounding from the other side. "I'm fine, so don't check up on me anymore!" I try to sound threatening, but I end up talking like an angry kitten instead.

But, that was enough for Betamon to take a few steps away from my jail cell.

"Little girl... F-Fine, I'll leave y-you alone." His voice quivers again, but it wasn't from fear at all. He sounds hurt. "B-But, I-I'll check up on you again soon!"

What is he saying? Betamon is going to get yelled at or maybe even hurt if he continues talking to me! I rush to the blinds and open it, intending to question the green fish Digimon. But, he had already disappeared from my jail cell and rushed off to the ends of the hallway. The bright white light of the room dims considerably, nearly covering it in black darkness.

I go back into my jail and wordlessly sit on the bed, leaving my thoughts afloat. So, my brother is okay back at home, but he has another one of these creatures with him too. This creat-, Digimon was it? This Digimon is actually different from the rest and wanted to be with Keita instead of kidnapping him. And the kidnappers' identity is also the Digimon, which would make them the bad guys. But, not every Digimon has bad intentions, like Betamon and even that Pagumon brother has, so they would be the good guys. Ah, this is so confusing!

"Ooh... My head..." With a mutter, I lay on my head on the cold, hard pillow and cover myself with the rough blanket. I wasn't even tired, but something inside me wants to take a break from everything. Closing my eyes, I simply stare at the blackness, unable to drift to sleep or any naps.

* * *

"Hey! Let me go! I'll bite you if you don't let me go!" Someone else's voice wakes me up from my short dreamless nap. I only slept for a bit, but my eyes feel quite refreshed and lively. Anyway, who's making that noise?

Thrashing noises sound from the other side of the jail cell, along with a cry from one of them going along the lines of, "They actually bit me!". What's more, they sound quite kiddish, so maybe it's another human!

I answer my inner question by peeking out of the blinds, some of the other kids doing the same too. All of us stare at the scene in front of my jail cell. A brown-haired kid flails his arms and legs against two knights, one black and one white, while Betamon is further away from them, consoling the bitten white knight. On the right side, there was also another cre-, Digimon swinging around a brown, bamboo sword against a black knight.

"Throw him into the cell already!" The bitten knight cries out, the other two nodding at his command as they open the jail cell in front of me. Without hesitation, they toss the poor kid inside and lock the door immediately.

"Hey!" The kid shouts, getting to his feet immediately and runs to the bars, poking his head out. "What are you going to do to Kotemon?!"

"Oh, we're separating the two of you." A deep voice, definitely belonging to Apemon, comes by my ears. The other kids hid themselves the moment they hear him, leaving the two of us to be the only ones staring out. Turquoise beads eye the Kotemon. Then, he karate-chops Kotemon's neck with his hand, silencing the poor Digimon immediately.

"Kotemon!" The kid cries out.

"Silence, kid! I'm not going to deal with another rebellious child today! You either stay quiet or, I do much more to him." Apemon threatens, moving his hand towards the anchored bone on his back. He still keeps a troubled look as he glances towards the unconscious Digimon, and he softens eventually, backing away from the jail cell.

"Fine... Please don't hurt him though!" He pleads, looking towards Apemon.

The yellow fluffy creature scoffs at his words. "As if that's up to me. I don't know what the Nanimon brothers do to traitors such as this fella. If he's lucky, he'll only get the whip and not the bombs."

With a flick of his hand, the knight Digimon trail behind Apemon, including the bitten white one. Betamon follows behind too, but not without sparing me a look of concern as he does.

I give a small wave to the green fish Digimon as the line disappears from my sight, leaving me to see a sullen kid instead. Well, that was something!


	15. Trapped Hope

It's been a few minutes since the brown-haired kid got tossed into the jail cell. Sleeping time was over for us, so all our blinds been tied to one side, and more Digimon was patrolling the hallway. Betamon was also a patrol, so the two of us exchange some words when he passed by me. But other than our small conversation, no one spoke any word. It was silence, except for the Digimon's footsteps and some of the kids' sniffing.

Sometimes, silence always made me think about the past. It brings me through happy memories, then throws me into the sad ones, so I hated it more than I liked it. But, I try to lean more to the happy stuff, like my soon-to-be escape plan in this place. Apparently, I had a hairpin in my own hair, so I have a way to break out. All I need to do is try to lockpick. But I don't know how to. It's a work-in-progress plan!

"Psst, hey." The kid in front of me whispers loudly, bringing my focus to him. He stares right at me with a blank look, probably worrying about his friend, Kotemon. "What's your name?"

"Kiyo." I reply with equal volume, looking away when a Digimon passes by us. I'm not about to risk myself for a simple introduction!

"Cool! My name is Yurio. You look quite familiar... Have we met?" He rubs his chin with his finger, eyes narrowing onto my face. Now that he says it, Yurio really does seem familiar. But, I can't remember it, no matter what. I'm pretty sure I'm not like my brother, yet I can't recall his face. Maybe it's just how common we both look, so we'd probably look similar to other people. I mean, both of us have brown hair, are small size and a babyface. Except for our eyes, the two of us look like twins. Yurio has golden yellow eyes while I have red eyes, adopting it from my father.

"Um, hello?" Yurio brings me away from my thoughts.

"Ah, sorry. Just thinking." I give a sheepish reply.

"Thinking about what?" He gives me a set of curious eyes. If this was any other situation, I'd probably have just said I was uncomfortable. But, there was no way I would let the silence get me.

"Just about my brother... I'm worried about how he is." My inner thoughts spill. Keeping an eye on the patrolling Digimon, I let out what I was thinking.

"My brother is an amnesiac, so he can't remember anything from before he hit his head. It was so bad, he couldn't even differentiate what's safe and what's dangerous and other things. I've always been there to help him, but now that I'm here..." A knight Digimon walks by, keeping a suspicious eye on the both of us. When he leaves, I continue.

"I'm afraid he wouldn't be able to take care of himself. So, I've been plotting a way to bust out of here for some time. Then, just earlier, I hear from one of them that my brother had a 'Pagumon' with him, so I'm a bit less worried."

As I finish my words, I could see Yurio's eyes twinkling at me, almost like stars in the night sky.

"Kiyo, you definitely have nothing to worry about! If what they said is true, then your brother has a Digimon partner!" He nearly yells, jumping up and down in his cell. "Whoa, that's so cool! A Pagumon as a partner!"

"Hey, pipe down! Or do you want me to call Apemon or the Nanimon brothers here?" One of the white knight Digimon, the same one who got bitten by him since he had a bite mark on his arm, bangs against the jail cell. Yurio simmers down like an angry puppy, pouting on the floor and glaring at the patrolling Digimon.

Betamon comes by, just as the injured Digimon walks away.

"A-Are you okay?" He asks me worriedly, looking at me from left to right.

I raise my hands up in a calming manner, smiling at the anxious Digimon. "Yeah, I'm okay. Yurio's the one who got yelled at." I point to Yurio, who was already on his feet.

"A-Ah..." Betamon takes one look at him before running off, not even saying good-bye. I couldn't even shout after him without risking both of us, so I only watched him go. What was that about?

"Weird. Betamon doesn't run off that quickly." I say, keeping my head out of the bars. "Is he not used to kids?"

"Maybe he only likes you. He is your partner Digimon after all!" Yurio's words take me for a surprise as my head snaps towards him. Partner Digimon? But we only just met.

"We're not partners at all. He's just a nice patrolling Digimon and, this is the first time we met. Who forges a friendship in less than a minute?" I reply sceptically, but it doesn't destroy the other's hopes at all. Instead, he seems to be more eager to prove his words right, just from how his eyes are twinkling.

"That's what I thought with Kotemon too, but the more time we spent together, the more believable it was! He would always cheer me up when I was down, and help fight off-" Another knight Digimon walks by, staring mostly at Yurio. Poor boy, he's always being suspected.

"Ahem, anyway. Kotemon also helped fight off other Digimon too, and he's just so cool overall! Though... I wish Shura thought the same as me." He switches from an energetic to a sullen look, crossing his arms and staring at the ground.

"Shura?" I ask out loud before cupping my mouth. That sounds like a girl name, and Yurio probably knows her. I wonder if she's in the jail cells too?

"She's not here." The brown-haired boy reads my mind, looking at me with a pair of sad eyes. "Unlike me, she didn't get captured, but she got hurt trying to rescue me..." He takes a guilty tone, biting his lower lip as he speaks. "Even Kotemon tried to rescue me, but in the end, we both got brought away instead. Now, I don't know what's happening to him..."

Oh, Kiyo! This is why you should keep your mouth close shut sometimes!

"Hey, I'm sure Shura is fine! I mean, she did manage to not get captured, so she should be quite strong, right?" I try to cheer Yurio up. He responds by lifting his head to see me, still holding the same pair of saddened eyes.

"And Kotemon should be okay too! He's a fellow Digimon, so he'd probably only get a slap on the wrist." He starts to regain some of his lost hope, just as some of the patrolling Digimon walks by, completely ignoring us.

"Also..." I pull out my secret weapon. It's a blue hairpin with the face of a Siamese cat at the end. "We can use this to lockpick and get out of here too." I cheekily smile, finally seeing the other's eyes twinkle once again.

"Thanks, Kiyo! You're so cool!" He says happily, causing my cheeks to burn slightly. Ah, I haven't heard anyone say that to me, other than my brother.

"Hehe, we got-"

***CLANG***

"NO! I DON'T WANNA LEAVE!"

"Ow! These kids are dangerous! I need back-up with K-197!"

The clanging noise, belonging to the metal cell doors, seems to come from the close right, where a squad of Digimon surrounds a single jail cell. Knight Digimon of black and white was trying to pull a young girl, younger than the two of us, from her jail, but she was putting up a fight. A good one too.

"What's happening? What are they doing to her?" Yurio asks, looking at the same scene.

"O-Oh, t-they're gonna d-do it..." Betamon suddenly appears beside me, just outside of my jail cell. I didn't even notice nor hear him coming towards me!

"Do what?"

"T-Taking her a-away..."

My heart nearly sinks. This is how the Digimon take children away? They're just violently pulling them from their jail against their will! No, maybe the kids don't know that they're being sent home. But now that I think about it... what was the point of bringing us all here? Why trap us in these jail cells?

"Hey, stop it, you meanies!" Yurio grips onto the cold metal bars and yells from his cell, but the Digimon don't pay any attention to him at all.

"H-Hey, t-tell your f-friend to q-quiet d-down..." Betamon whispers to me.

"Yurio, stop shouting. There isn't anything we can do right now." I try to simmer the boy down, but he doesn't listen to me. He's even more troublesome than how my brother used to be!

"Yurio." He still continues to ignore me.

"Yurio!" Third time works its charm as the boy turns to me with an irritated look.

"What?! Can't you see what they're doin-"

***CLANG***

The jail cell closes shut. The squad of Digimon finally manages to take the girl away and holds the trembling girl by her hand, leading her away from the rows of jail cells. They slowly disappear into the ends of the hallway and leaves us to wonder just what happens when they get taken away. The three of us fall silent, returning back to our routine. As I turn back to Yurio, he gives me a hurt look before turning away and retreating deeper into his cell.

* * *

A long time goes by, and Yurio didn't talk to me at all. I don't know if it was because of what I said, or because he was angry about the earlier incident, but whatever it was, it's keeping him from talking to me. The children around us, who used to hold a conversation when we were talking, now suddenly stopped their noise when we did. The silence comes back.

Betamon had also been taken away by the knight Digimon under suspicion of breaking rules. Maybe that's why there are less patrolling Digimon; why this jail cell seems to be growing bigger and emptier; why I feel so lonely. Ah, don't think about this anymore!

I fiddle with my pockets and grab the hairpin from it, bringing it to eye-level. Maybe I can practise lockpicking with this. I just want to not think about the silence...

Moving over to the jail cell bars, I find the lock at the far left, appearing very bulky and thick, just like the bars. The keyhole was small too, but I could still insert my hairpin inside. Keeping an eye on the outside, I begin to lockpick, pressing my ear against the cold metal. My body fidgets from the sudden coldness. Then, I insert my hairpin inside and twist it around, feeling something heavy on the top of the pin. One push against one of the heavy things and I hear a hopeful click sound. Success!

My hairpin starts to push more against the heavy things, the others being more difficult to get a click sound from. I had to stop every now and then, and I couldn't get the hairpin out. Otherwise, the heavy things would fall back down and, I would have to push them back up again. Every click noise I hear from this lock, it grows my hope for escape, distracts my mind and gets me thinking more into my plan.

Maybe I could give this to Yurio and help him out of his cell too. That way, we'll both be able to escape from this room and try to sneak our way out. We'd find where Kotemon and Betamon were held in, bust them out and successfully get out of here!

"Soon, we'll be able to-"

"Escape?" I push myself back and see a brown head with black glasses and a moustache, standing on two legs and having two very muscular arms. He has a very... questionable choice of clothing.

"Uh, um..." I couldn't even form a sentence when this unknown Digimon throws cell gate wide open, banging it against the next cell. It produces a metallic noise, loud enough to get the children's attention again.

"Don't even try resisting. You're up K-201." He grabs me by my arm and tightly grips on it. His grip was so powerful, I thought he could break my arm at any moment!

"I-It hurts..." I let out a whimper as he pulls me out of my jail cell and slams the metal door. However, this Digimon only gives me a hard stare, no mercy evident in his eyes behind the shades. He's not like Betamon at all.

"Kiyo?!" Yurio comes into my view, holding a look of surprise and anger mixed in it. He growls at the Digimon. "Hey, let go of her! You're not taking her away too!"

This Digimon scoffs, much like how Apemon did, and goes closer to Yurio's jail cell, pulling me along. The young boy backs away slowly, still keeping an aggressive look. But it all disappears when the Digimon bashes against the bars right in front of Yurio. The impact sends the boy tumbling to the ground and, the bars bent in the shape of his fist.

"This is for brainwashing Kotemon with all of that partnership crap!" He scolds, pulling his fist back. "Even after every torture we gave, he's still thinking of you and only you. Why does that Digimon even care so much about a resource?!"

"Y-You tortured h-him?..." I could hear Yurio's voice crack with guilt and hurt when he heard those words. "I-I... I d-didn't..." All of his ferocity had been drained from him, replacing it with intense guilt instead as he trembles slightly.

"H-Hey! Leave him alone! You're taking me away, aren't you?"I intercept the Digimon, trying to yank my arm away from him, but only succeed in a small tug. He gives me a side-glance, then pulls me with him, actually listening to my words.

"Annoying resources..." He mutters to himself.

As I look back, I see Yurio stare at me with tear-filled eyes, void of any hope or happiness. He could only watch me helplessly, which makes my heart sink even further. No, I can't just leave him like that! Oh, maybe...

Using my free hand, I dig out the hairpin and toss it as near as I could to Yurio with a swing of my arm. The light blue pin flies through the air and lands just next to his jail cell, nearly going under it. Yurio goes after it, taking it up with shaky hands. He then glances at me with the same pair of eyes, but this time, he gives me a light smile too.

"Just don't lose hope, Yurio." I mouth those words to him, just before he leaves my sight. The ends of the hallway draw nearer and nearer to me, each step filling me with hope and despair together. The hope of being free or the despair of being trapped here forever? Which would come true?

I honestly want to hope to be free.

"Heheh, we're finally here, K-201." The moustached Digimon says as he pushes open the doors.

What I saw past those metal doors... It made me wished I had never, ever chosen to break out of that jail cell.

"B-Brother, please..." I shut my eyes, unable to bear the sight anymore. "S-Save me."


	16. Shellmon's Beach

**(Switched back to Keita's POV)**

I don't know how long I have been walking through this seemingly endless pathway with no destination in sight or mind. When I first woke up, it was just black everywhere, and quite cold here too. Something within me has been urging me to walk this path and to continue to do so. The only reason why I didn't drop this hell-walk was because of that same feeling, which grew stronger the further I went.

Time certainly did pass here, but I didn't know how much. This place is very familiar to me, but I couldn't remember why. I'm quite sure I've met someone here before, but I don't know who. Everything is just an uncertainty here, giving me the same feeling of confusion as to when I first opened my eyes to the world. Honestly, I hate that feeling. It just makes me feel helpless, needing to be guided by others or shown the way all the time. I can still recount the guilt I felt when Kiyo was taking care of me. How she had to stop going to school for a while just so she could help me. How I was just...

"I was just such a burden!" The words leap out of my mouth, leaving a bitter taste in my tongue.

" **Yeah, you really were. Wait, make that 'are' since you're still one."** 'He' comes into my view as a shadow figure, a wide sinister grin on 'his' black face. His colours were much darker than the surroundings, so 'his' body shape was visible to me.

"Why do I keep seeing you in every dream I have?"

'He' laughs merrily, walking over to me with slow steps.

" **Aw, don't you want to see me anymore?** " 'He' says in a fake, sarcastic, childish tone, blinking 'his' red eyes multiple times at me.

"No."

 **"Augh! Shot down so quick!** "

"Stop playing around already. Just tell me why you led me here!" I shout at 'him', stomping my feet on the invisible ground. Suddenly, 'he' leans forth and places a finger to my mouth.

" **Shh... You're such a killjoy!** " The shadow figure whispers into my ear, 'his' grin returning to 'his' face. " **I only led you here so that you could ask me questions. I mean, you're so good at it! I've heard each and every one of your inner monologues and, I must say... You love to bash yourself every now and then, don't you?** "

What? H-He heard everything I thought to myself? Even this very sentence?!

"Who are you?" I ask, keeping still. 'He' leans back from me, holding a pouty expression on 'his' face.

" **Sorry, can't answer that. There isn't any point in me saying it either if you don't know who I am.** " 'He' replies, confusing me.

"What do you mean?"

'He' sighs, shaking 'his' head. " **May as well show you.** " The shadow figure closes 'his' mouth for a few moments before opening them again. However, no words seem to be coming out of them, nor could I lip-read 'him' at all. It's as if I couldn't process those words, or hear them.

" **See?** " 'His' next word comes with 'his' voice. " **I just said my identity and who I was to you. But since you don't know that, it can't process at all in your mind, and it'll just be empty words. Literally.** "

Oh, so I was right. But, I wonder why is that the case? If there's something I don't know, that's probably due to my loss of memories... Oh!

"Is it somehow tied to my lost memories?" I ask the shadow figure. 'His' pout switches to a grin again, the shadow figure nodding at my words.

" **Glad to see you have a functioning brain. Yeah, if you want to know who I am, the events of your recent dreams and how I'm linked to you, then you need to get back your memories.** "

"But, how can I get them back? The doctors told me they would come back eventually."

'He' shrugs 'his' shoulders. " **Professional medical experts, my foot. Look, your memories are not going to come back over time unless you want to experience that same static garble again. In order to get them again, you need to overcome the trauma that's blocking it in the first place."** 'He' informs rather helpfully, pulling away from me. 'His' expression takes on a troubled one when 'he' ends 'his' sentence, though.

"It's not the head injury?"

The shadow figure face-palms 'himself'. " **No! I can't tell you straight what it is either... But I know one thing. This trauma ties in with the Digital World, and the clues are much closer than you think.** **You heard all of that?** " I nod at 'his' words, taking a mental note of 'his' confusing explanation. So, the only way to get back my memories is to get past this trauma, which lies in the Digital World. Not only that, but the hints are nearby too, so it shouldn't be taking that long either.

Oh, who the heck am I kidding?! Of course, this is going to take forever! Everything 'he' says is so vague!

" **Geez, no need to shout in your inner monologue.** "I glare daggers at the shadow figure, who cheekily smiles in return. " **I don't know if you can hear this, but the one who caused your trauma is... a human. And that's already a major clue too!** "

"I heard it. So, it's a human..." I repeat 'him', trailing off into thought about who it can be. What kind of human is capable of causing a trauma so bad, it blocks my memories? Whoever they are, they must be bad people.

The shadow figure takes an unexpected sigh, turning 'his' back on me. " **Well, that's all the time I had. A shame that I can't bully you any further too...** " 'He' says in a disappointed tone. If only my body wasn't frozen stiff by this cold, I would have at least given 'him' a piece of my mind!

" **At least you're resembling-...** " The blackness swallows the shadow figure, along with 'his' words, leaving me all alone in this sheer cold. As I take my last white puff of breath, the background shatters in a blink of an eye and, I lose control of my consciousness.

* * *

"Guh!" An invisible jab to my back forces me awake, causing my body to jolt upwards. My heart races as I ease my rapid breathing, focusing my blurry vision on whatever that I was looking at. When I did, I could see the purple sky taking an orange colouring, the Moon slowly being pushed out by the Sun. So, it was still this early. That dream felt like it lasted for almost a day, yet only a few hours passed here.

I'll never understand my dreams. Actually, could I really count that conversation I had to be part of them? It certainly wasn't random, since the Shadow Figure was deliberately bringing me to him, and there wasn't any background unless total darkness is considered. His dialogue was so childish and confusing as if I was conversing with a child explaining a documentary he just watched to me. Just how is he related to me? And how is my trauma tied to this world?

"Ugh, I want to go back to sleep..." I grumble to myself, closing back my eyes. A minute passed, and I couldn't keep them closed any longer as they popped open. Sigh, I'll just look around.

Getting off the sand, I try not to accidentally knock against Shinsuke, who was sleeping beside me. Unlike me, he looks peaceful asleep. At least, I don't think he's talking with any shadow figures in his dreams. Gaomon was by the rocks, sleeping as well, but I didn't see Gazimon with him. In fact, he isn't even here around the sleeping area.

Maybe he got the same idea of walking about.

I decided to try and find my canine partner, in hopes of passing the time and having a friendly talk with him. He always lights my mood up with his jokes and, it's quite funny to hear his sarcastic snips. Honestly, I'm just lonely to be awake.

Walking around the beach, I took notice of some other Digimon around the area, most of which were asleep for some time. There were blue crabs, white sea lions with an orange mane, green turtles with a blue helmet and green frogs with horns around their necks. They almost looked natural to be here, just aquatic creatures living at the beach and the seas. Just minding their own businesses... It makes me forget that they're Digimon and not actual sea creatures.

Soon, I catch a glimpse of Gazimon's silhouette by the rocks. He shifts around with the magenta rocks, swiping his claws at the air and flinging his tail about irritatedly. What's he doing over there?

"Gazimon!" I call out to him. But the other doesn't respond, continuing to slash at nothing. Something is really wrong over there... I'm getting a terrible feeling out of it. Pushing against my chills and goosebumps, I walk towards my partner. The nearer I got, the clearer he becomes in my vision, to the point when I could see his very expression.

His red eyes were wide and, his teeth were showing his pointed canines, an aggressive look overtaking his face. It seems that, at any point, he could start lashing out and attacking anything he sees at sight!

No, I can't just write him off as dangerous so quickly. Maybe he's tense or stressed out about something. Come on Keita don't be such a coward!

"Gazi-"

"No! I won't- I can't relapse into this!" Gazimon speaks in a strained voice. "I won't let their efforts go to nothing! Th-This is all I have of them!" He shakes his head, stepping back into the rocks. Noticing them, he turns around and gives it a long, hard stare, his eyes narrowing on them. Suddenly, Gazimon bashes his head against it, a frightening thud resounding from it.

"Hey!" I instinctively shouted, rushing over to him. My body moves before my mind could even think it, as my hands clasp onto Gazimon's shoulders and try to get him away from the rocks.

"P-Partner?! What are you doing here?"

"I just took a walk and found you here!"

He immediately lowers his guard, causing me to pull him back so hard, the two of us tumble to the sand. Gazimon falls flat on my stomach with a small yelp.

"Oof!" He knocks the breath right out of me.

The two of us lay on the ground, motionless. I could hear Gazimon's breathing, hasty and uneasy. It takes a while for him to get off of me, and the two of us end up sitting on the sand, facing each other. Questions run through my head, but I manage to pick one out from the pile.

"Are you okay?"

"Am I okay?" He asks himself, staring down at his claws. "I... Yeah, I'm fine. It's all fine, nothing happened at all."

"I wouldn't call, 'bashing your head against a rock' to be nothing, you know. I may have forgotten stuff, but I'm not dumb, Gazimon." I bluntly state, the canine Digimon going silent, fidgeting in the sand. His legs wriggle in place, a nervous tick I often see on television.

"It was just a way of relieving stress..." He mutters, sounding unbelievable.

"You shouted at the air. You attacked nothing. Heck, you were talking something to yourself, then started ramming your head against the rocks! How are you even telling me that you're fine?!" My voice raises against him, irritation and anger bubbling within me. Why am I feeling so angry?

"You saw me do that?... No, nevermind. It's nothing for you to worry about!"

"Well too late, because I'm ALREADY worried!"

His legs shake even more. "Look, just drop it already! I don't want to talk about it further! It's not something I want to openly say to you!"

"And why not? What is it that you aren't telling me, Gazimon?!"

The canine Digimon growls and stands up. "It's none of your business, human! Just leave me alone!" He shouts at me, turning around to leave. However, I clasp him by the tail, trying to stop him from escaping.

"Let go of me!" He swipes towards where his tail was, his pointed claws cutting through the air to my hand. In a second, I could feel the burning sensation of pain running through my arm, along with me yelping. I fall back to the sand in surprise. Did he just... scratch me?

As I weakly raise it up, I could see the scratch mark going through my brown sleeve, into my skin, where the blood seeps slowly out of it. My eyes widen at this sight. He really did scratch me...

I look up to see Gazimon, only to see a pale and horrified expression on his face. He keeps shaking his head as if he couldn't believe what he had done and mumbles something to himself.

"... not me... didn't do this." My ears could only catch fragmented sentences.

Without another word, Gazimon runs off and, this time, I didn't have the will to call out to him anymore.


	17. Misunderstandings

Ever since Gazimon ran away, I've just been sitting by the magenta rocks, drowning myself in a stream of thoughts in my head. It's quite ironic how much I think alone, yet I don't think at all before I do something. I shouldn't have pestered him with questions, and just drop the topic then and there. If I just stayed quiet, I wouldn't have made him so frustrated to the point that he would... scratch me. My eyes fall upon the injury on my arm, where the blood continually seeps out.

I'm not even angry at him for doing this. But, there is a feeling that's choking me from within, making my heart beat quickly and loudly. It's so unpleasant and painful, it almost makes me want to yell and cry.

Is this what they call hurt?

If I'm feeling this way, how would Gazimon be like right now? I saw his expression when he scratched me. The moment he saw what he did to me, his eyes immediately softened, and his face turned a paler purple. His ears flopped down, alongside his tail, and a shiver went through his body, just before he ran off. I know he did it out of anger.

But, I couldn't muster any will to call after him. I... I was scared of Gazimon. And because of that fear, I've just been sitting here like an idiot for who knows long, pitying him and myself. Damn, I really feel like punching myself-

"Hey, there you are!" A voice breaks my train of thoughts. Looking to the source, I find Shinsuke standing a distance away from me, panting and appearing quite frantic.

"What are you doing here?" I ask the approaching boy.

"That's my question! Do you know how long Gaomon and I have been searching for you two?" He nags at me like a mother, stopping right in front of me. "I swear, you are going to give me a head-... You're bleeding."

Ah, he noticed. I try to hide my arm, but he seizes it before I could, lightly holding onto it with his soft hands. He stares at the injury, almost as if he was intently studying it.

"Where did you get this?" He asks, still inspecting my injury.

I didn't answer him. It doesn't feel right to say that Gazimon did it to me. Or maybe it's because I couldn't say it out loud.

When he notices my silence, Shinsuke sighs. He shoves his hand into his right pockets and brings out a plain white handkerchief, edging the cloth closer to my injury. The moment it touches my arm, a sting went through and, I yank my arm out of his grasp with a yelp. What is that accursed cloth made of?!

"Hold still, I'm trying to clean off the blood."

"But it hurts! Can't I just leave it like this?"

"Open injuries can lead to infections, Keita! I am not letting you walk around with this bleeding scratch mark. I promise I'll be gentle, so give me your arm." He calmly says, keeping a straight, stoic face.

Do I really have to clean my injury? Gah, but if I get sick here, I don't even know where I can find medicine to treat it.

After a bit of hesitation on my part, I reluctantly move back my arm, allowing the boy to wipe the blood off with the handkerchief. As he cleans my injury, multiple stings of pain went off, making me grit my teeth. Damn, it hurts like hell! It feels like I just placed my arm through fire and, it's burning my skin off slowly! And tortuously!

"It hurts alot!" I hiss, trying my best to keep my arm in place.

"Well, it's your fault for sustaining this injury in the first place. You shouldn't have been so careless."

"But Gazimon wa-" I immediately cover my mouth with my free hand. Shinsuke smirks at me, a glint in his eyes as he raises his eyebrows. H-He said that on purpose!

"So, Gazimon was the one who scratched you. No wonder you felt the need to hide that fact." He speaks in a matter-of-fact tone. Geez, he really does sound like a detective. And a proud one, too. Even cute, if I take it a bit far-

"Ow!" A cry escapes me, just as Shinsuke wraps the handkerchief around my arm and ties it with a knot. "I thought you were going to be gentle!"

"To me, it was. Besides, if I didn't say that, you wouldn't have given me your arm either." He gives me another smirk, to which I just mutter to myself. Oh, I'm not trusting him ever again!

"Anyway, we better go find our partners. I honestly don't trust any of the Digimon here to keep to themselves. Especially that white sea lion with sparkling eyes..." Shinsuke points to one of the Digimon, who stares back with a bright smile, even waving at us too. I give a small wave back.

"Wh- Don't wave at it! What if it comes near to us?"

"It's not! Look, it's just lying on the sand with a blue crab Digimon!"

The boy sighs irritatedly, giving up on me. As he stands up and wipes the sand off his clothing, I only stare at him with a confused look. The boy catches it after a while.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You're not going to ask me why Gazimon scratched me?"

Shinsuke shrugs his shoulders. "Well, if you want to inform me, you can go ahead. If you don't want to, then it's not my place to persuade. The decision is yours to make."

There he goes, acting all formal as if I was just... just... Geez, I don't even know what to say! His way of speaking just ticks me off! I'd rather hear people speaking static than listen to him.

I stand up as well. "Fine, I'll just make my own decision."

* * *

And so I decided to inform Shinsuke about everything that occurred in the early morning, going from the discovery of Gazimon to the fight we both had. Needless to say, recollecting it wasn't something easy for me, and I almost regretted my decision. The guilt and hurt stemming from that fight could easily drown me if I let it to.

Shinsuke took my explanation without another word, though I don't know if that was good or bad. Probably bad since he ended up nagging at me for my actions, reminding me all the stuff I had already told myself. Though, a part of our conversation stuck with me.

"But, you didn't do much wrong. You were only concerned about Gazimon, as a partner and a friend to him, so don't feel too guilty about your actions. Sometime soon, he'll tell you why."

"What if he doesn't say?"

"Then force it out of him."

"What?! B-But that goes against everything you just said earlier! About how I shouldn't be forcing Gazimon to tell me stuff!"

"Sometimes, a little tough love is needed."

Yet again, I grumbled, rubbing my forehead with my uninjured hand. Shinsuke really knows how to lead me around circles like a horse, spouting out advice that doesn't make sense at the end. But, I kinda enjoy it. I guess bickering is something I like now, especially with Gazimon. At least his responses are more expressive than cold hard stone Shinsuke. Though, he does give me a nice challenge to get a reaction out of him, making me want to see him get flustered, like last time.

We walk through the beach with Shinsuke in the lead, staying silent as we pass by the chattering Digimon. Some of them were looking at us with awe, others in distrust, and a few in fear, which makes me quite concerned about being alone with the boy. Sure, I could somehow defend myself with a stick, but with this whole place crawling with Digimon, I don't think we could stand much of a chance. Besides, my goal isn't fighting all of them.

I just want information about Kiyo's whereabouts.

"H-Hey!" A white sea lion Digimon appears right in front of us, causing Shinsuke to stop abruptly and me to nearly crash into his back.

"Take the stick, Keita! We're taking it out." Shinsuke says coldly. The Digimon waves its claws around in a frantic motion. "N-No! I don't mean any harm! It was just a dare from my friends, so take it easy!"

My eyes stay focus on the Digimon as I drop the stone I picked up earlier. That was the only viable weapon near me. If there were sticks at the beach, then someone must either be a walking tree or be determined enough to take a branch and throw it around here. Honestly, I think Shinsuke just said that sentence out of impulse.

"A dare?"

The Digimon nods its head. "Yeah, a dare! I'm Gomamon, by the way, and my friends, Crabmon and Geckomon are right there too. They were the ones who dared me to bring you guys to them."

Looking at the direction Gomamon was pointing at, I see another one of those blue crabs with red highlights and green frogs with a horn around their necks. They were sitting by the sand and laughing away, probably at Gomamon.

"Oh, a dare. How nice." Shinsuke says in the most monotonic voice I've ever heard. "Unfortunately for you, we aren't going to go along with your words."

"Well, that's okay too! I'll just bring them to you!"

Before we could even stop him, Gomamon rushes off to his friends, leaving the two of us to stare after him.

"Should we run?" I whisper to Shinsuke, going nearer to him.

"I don't think we can outrun them. Well, we'll just have to play along until those two idiots come back." The boy ends with a sigh, moving his hand through his hair.

Blinking my eyes, I raise an eyebrow at the other's words. "I can understand Gazimon, but why do you call Gaomon an idiot?"

He turns to me with a fake happy expression. "Let's just say Gaomon is the reason why I got to the Digital World. For a very stupid reason."

At the end of our conversation, Gomamon comes back to us, along with Crabmon and Geckomon on his tail. All three of them had sparkly eyes, each of them looking so close, it's actually making me feel uncomfortable.

"What Digimon are you? You look so cool!" Crabmon suddenly asks, surprising both of us.

"We're not Digimon! We're humans!" I answer back with a slight irritation in my voice. What made this little crab think that we're Digimon? Shinsuke looks very done with this, choosing to keep silent and coldly stare at the three of them. However, not even his stare is enough to chase them away.

"Hooman? What's that?" Geckomon chimes in with a simple question. Well, that question is... actually good. I don't know the answer to that!

"Ah, uh... A hooman is- I mean, human! A human is..." I nudge at Shinsuke. "Help me out here, I don't know how to answer them."

He gives me a side-glance, then sighs once more. Looking down at the three, awestruck Digimon, he opens his mouth and gives them their answer.

"A human is a bipedal mammal, capable of reproduction through intercourse between two different genders and possessing an intellect higher than any other species. Though we are considered to be from the family of monkeys, humans have shown their distinction through articulate speech and abstract reasoning. We also have varying features that differentiate a single person from everyone else, like how my hair is navy blue, but my friend's hair is white. There, that's your answer."

All three, no, four of us went silent. We just stare at this boy... Nah, there's no way he's just a boy! How can a twelve-year-old boy spout that many deep terms like that?! He has to be fifteen or something.

"Shinsuke, how old are you?"

"I'm 12, why do you ask?"

My mouth gapes at him, as the gears in my head whirr and whirr to process what he said. I ended up standing still with a shocked expression, like the rest of them.

Gomamon breaks the silence again, raising his claw up. "Um, anyone up for another game of Truth-and-Dare?"

* * *

"C'mon, Crabmon... You gotta tell us." Gomamon nudges the said Digimon's claws, raising and lowering his purple eyebrows.

In an unexpected twist of events, Shinsuke and I somehow are sitting calmly with these three Digimon on the sand, playing along with this game of Truth-or-Dare with them. I don't know why I agreed, and even less so on why Shinsuke agreed as well with little to no objections, but here we are. Playing a game with unknown Digimon.

Frankly, I've only ever heard of Truth-or-Dare back in my home. There wasn't any chance for me to play the game, so I didn't have much knowledge of the rules of the game. Thankfully, Gomamon and Geckomon were kind enough to enlighten me on the rules, which weren't much in the first place. We spin this seashell on the sand, and whichever person or Digimon it points to, they become the original asker. Spin it again, and the target it selects becomes the asked. Once they said truth or did a dare, they become the next asker, and we spin the seashell once more.

"White human! Truth or Dare?" Crabmon asks me, emerald eyes gleaming at me with a devilish look at them. Something tells me I shouldn't be selecting 'Truth'... especially after Gomamon's question.

"Dare." I answer after some thought.

"Okay! I dare you to... take a spectacular nosedive into the ocean!"

"A what?!"

"You heard me! Jump into the ocean while doing a flashy pose!" Crabmon says again, smiling widely. Gomamon and Geckomon join in this excitement as well.

"Yeah! Humans can swim, right?" To the sealion Digimon's statement, I give a small nod. By right, they are... but I don't know if I can actually swim. Glancing to Shinsuke, I look to him for his input in this. He gives me a worrying look in return and shakes his head at me, mouthing me the words, 'Don't do it'. Yeah, if even he's telling me not to go with this, then I shouldn't be doing this at all.

"Uh, could we do another dare?" I sheepishly ask, only for it to get shot down entirely by Crabmon's remark.

"What, no! A dare is a dare!"

"But I don't think I can swim that well! What if I drown?" The last word barely escapes me. Drowning... It's just a much more painful way to die by the hands of the ocean.

Despite my pleas, the three Digimon were adamant in pushing it.

"C'mon, you've got three expert swimmers! We can fish you out if things go horribly wrong." Gomamon tries to encourage me.

Geckomon backs his words up as well. "Yeah, we're much faster in the ocean than on the land."

Their words start to slowly change my mind. Of course, they would be faster in the sea since they're aquatic Digimon, so I can jump in without any worries. I mean, they can swim fast! All I have to do is close my eyes, do some pose and just wait for them to grab onto me. Yeah, how bad can this go? There's three of them! I can trust my life with them.

"Keita, please tell me you aren't doing this." Shinsuke's voice cuts through the encouragement, addressing me and getting my attention. He still holds a worried look, but he seems to be holding it back, waiting for my response. Yeah, I'm definitely going to disappoint him again.

"I'm doing this."

* * *

And so here I am right now, standing in front of the ocean, an audience bigger than three Digimon and Shinsuke cheering me on from behind me. I don't know where they came from or how they got word of my actions, but I do know that they're all here for one reason. To see me jump into the ocean.

Yes, I may have said to myself that I'm 'drowning in a stream of thoughts', but I don't want to actually drown for real! Wait, since there's more aquatic Digimon, I should have a lesser chance of dying out there... My confidence gradually grows as my eyes set on the glimmering blue ocean, shining in the eventual rise of the Sun.

"Oh, he's actually going to do it!"

"I can't believe that Digi- Human is crazy enough to dive. Can they even swim?"

"This'll be entertaining."

"Keita, don't you dare do this! Why are you even doing this?!" As always, Shinsuke's voice sounds much distinct from the rest of the Digimon, as I look behind me. The boy stands a few feet away with a desperate look, seeming more fierce than when he was nagging at me.

Then, my thoughts return to my problems, about the dream with the Shadow Figure, the incident with Gazimon and... Kiyo's disappearance. Each of them weighed much heavier in my mind than before. But when I look at the ocean, I could imagine the cold water wrapping around me, washing away all those problems and just leave me with peace.

With freedom. I want to relish that feeling.

And so, I jump into the ocean, doing whatever pose that comes to mind. The increasing volume of cheering of the Digimon is suddenly cut short when the water enters into my ears, roaring into them. My eyes close and my breathing stops entirely, as my body sinks into the ocean. It takes a lot out of me to not open my mouth, especially with how cold the water was, but I somehow succeed.

Okay, I did it! I actually jumped into the ocean in another world! Definitely not on my bucket list at all, but it's something new I discovered anyway. Now, I would like if some kind Digimon could start bringing me back to the surface!

A few seconds pass and only the feeling of the water surrounds me.

My eyes slowly open underwater. They don't sting at all in the ocean, but the sight isn't much to look at. It's just a blank blue everywhere, holding a similar appearance to the black abyss, but at least there are different shades of blue. However, that doesn't help me at all. No matter where I shift to, I couldn't see those three Digimon at all.

It's only me.


	18. Revelation

Alright, don't panic at all, Keita! If you do, you're going to open your mouth and, there goes your oxygen. I just need to remain calm and try to find a way back to surface, or at least stop sinking faster in the ocean. My brain starts racking for any memories of swimming or anything useful to help me in this situation. However, nothing turns up. I couldn't think of a solution at all. The only thing parading around in my head is a well-known feeling of fear. Fear that my oxygen runs out. Fear that the water is going to go into my lungs through my nose and mouth. Fear that I'm about to suffocate to death painfully... and I don't want that!

My arms flail about in desperation, but my body doesn't move up at all, staying in place. The motion only serves to deplete my energy even further, forcing me to take in the water. To open my mouth. No, don't open it-

My chest jolts me up, and the water gushes into me, filling my mouth with the taste of salt. It gives me another jolt, forcing me to drink the water in place of the oxygen. They aren't satisfied with two jolts at all. They're going to continue doing this to me until... until I breathe in air.

"Hrrgh!" I sharply inhale the water, a burning sensation erupting in my chest and nose. The pain finally kicks in. Heh, drowning isn't a painless death at all... It forces you to be conscious and throws you into agony, pushing to breathe in this water until you feel your body shutting down, finally making you sleep. Forever.

Just as I think that sentence, my vision dims considerably, closing into black. My time has come... I-I'm not... prepared for this. I still have so much to do, see and even meet! My life had just started months ago, and now it's going to end here, at the non-existent hands of water? This isn't fair at all... Why couldn't someone have saved me? Why did they all betray me like this and leave me to die here? Is it... my fate to die here?

"... **Oi, Keita. Don't you even dare think fate was ever our miser, you coward!** " The shadow figure's voice creeps into my head with a chill colder than the water. His words are the only sounds I could hear before my mind finally shuts down.

* * *

"-ar me! Plea-... -ke up!" A ringing tune subdues every other noise, sound and voice in my head, playing at a pitch capable of shrieking ears. I know that's a voice speaking to me, but it doesn't sound divine, like a God. A God has that sound of holiness, a chorus of angels singing behind his every word. And there isn't any golden clouds or white background, or practically anything at all. Pure black is all I got as my haven background.

"-eita! Keita!" Oh wow, this God of mine has some real mimicking skills! He almost sounds like Shinsuke, plus the actual desperation behind his voice.

... That's actually Shinsuke, isn't it? If that's the case, then I'm not actually dead, just unconscious. There isn't any feeling in my body at all, unable to lift any of my limbs. The only thing here is that annoying ringing tune which seems to grow softer with each passing second, making Shinsuke's voice more clearer in my mind.

"How long was he in there?!" His voice is finally clear. I could hear the small hiccups accompanying his cracked voice as he talks to someone else. Shinsuke's been crying. Over me. All because I-... No, no more self-bashing anymore. If I want to solve my problems, I shouldn't waste any time beating myself up for those problems.

Using whatever strength I had in me, I try to force myself back to consciousness, pushing the heavy lid off my eyes. After a few seconds, I could finally feel my hands and arms, though I still couldn't lift them up. More time passes, and my eyes could open up. As I do, the scenery changes slowly from the blank blue sea to a lighter blue sky. Oh, I really am on land. But who-

All of a sudden, the urge to cough overwhelms me. My first cough already scares Shinsuke as the boy nearly jumps up from the sand. Multiple coughs follow through, some of them making me throw up water. A burning sensation creeps into my throat as well, not as painful as when I was in the water though. I roll over to face the ground and continue my coughing spree.

Shinsuke's hand rubs against my back as I sputter out any remaining water in my throat. I heavily breathe in the sweet, sweet air afterwards.

"Are you feeling better?" I answer him with a small nod. Something tells me that if I utter a single word right now, it's going to kill my throat even further.

"Oh, thank God, you're okay. You didn't wake up, even after I administered CPR on you, so I thought I did something horribly wrong!" He speaks worriedly, running a hand through his hair multiple times. "Geez, you really, really are the most idiotic human I have ever met in my whole life! Why would you jump into the ocean when you can't even swim?!"

Before I could give him an answer, he interrupts me immediately, continuing his words.

"Do you know how worried I was when you didn't emerge from the ocean? For a whole minute, I wondered what had happened to you. Were you safe? Drowning? Even possibly dead? These types of words constantly flew in my head, driving me even more crazy until I turned to the Digimon to have them rescue you. You know what I saw instead? No one! Everyone just scurried off the beach in a hurry!" A twisted smile forms on his face, as his eyebrows knit closer and closer together into a furrow. "I was so close to jumping into the ocean myself too! If I hadn't met this Digimon and begged him to rescue you, I would have done it."

When he was finally done speaking his mind out, the boy takes a huge breath of air and exhales it out slowly. His brows return back to their place and, his face eases up, the red shade dissolving back to his original skin tone. Well, I know I have gone through a lot of Shinsuke's nagging sessions and scolding times. But, I have never heard him been so emotional in his words. Behind them, his worry and stress were so clear, even audible, when he would usually be neutral in his dialogue. The only other time was back at Kunemon's Bed when he was quite angry with me revealing our location to the Kunemon.

Unfortunately, I could reply to him with a frown and a guilty look, sitting upon the sand. His face softens and, he reaches his hand to my shoulder, resting on it.

"I thought I lost you, Keita." He says it with his puffy, red eyes staring straight into my weary eyes. A warm feeling grows within me the moment he says those words, heat moving to my face and burning it. It makes my head go dizzy if the lack of oxygen didn't already. I don't understand this feeling... Aren't I supposed to be feeling guilty right now? What's with this new emotion?

Sadly, I can't ask anyone about it anytime soon.

"Um, I hate to ruin a moment but..." A deep yet meek voice sounds from behind me, causing me to hastily turn my body. My eyes meet with what seems to be a pink turtle-like creature with seaweed for hair and a giant rocky shell as its back. This creature looks at me with soft sapphire eyes and a semi-open mouth. Oh well, guess if I'm not going to die by water, I'm going to die in the mouth of this Digimon instead!

"A-Ah!" I immediately push my body forward but succeed in nearly tumbling to the sand in my dizziness. The boy had to catch me from falling.

"Careful, you haven't recovered!"

"Ooo... now this human is scared of me too." The Digimon mutters. As I prop myself beside Shinsuke with his support, I get a better look at this aquatic creature. Frankly, he reminds me of a monster, pink turtle! Like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Only minus the ninja, dye them pink, give them a rock instead of a shell, melt their mouth slightly and place seaweed on their head. It also seems like its... upset?

"What is that Digimon?" I ask, pointing towards the pink turtle Digimon.

"That's Shellmon. He may look scary, but he's actually the one who rescued you from the ocean."

"Oh..." I didn't expect the Digi- Shellmon to be my saviour at all. Ah, now I'm feeling even more guilty...

"Uh, Shellmon?" The Digimon tilts its head up slightly, glimmering sapphire eyes gazing right at me. "T-Thanks for saving me from, you know, dying. And sorry for wanting to crack your shell open with a rock." I try to gulp down any fear and anxiety in an attempt to at least make Shellmon relieved or happier. It's already bad enough that I had upset one Digimon, I didn't need to deal with another straight after almost dying.

Luckily for me, Shellmon responds with a small smile and, leans his body backwards, relaxing his back further into the sand. Seeing him in this position also releases some of my existing fears as I take in another deep breath of fresh air. If only it had a sweet taste, it could rub off the saltiness off of my tongue.

"It's okay, white-haired human... I'm already thankful that you two aren't running out of my sight." His smile turns into a frown, most probably recalling his experiences. "Every Digimon I had met, or even made eye contact with always scurried off in fear, choosing to hide in the waters or under a rock, or any place they could think of. Not one of them would listen to a word I said... It even happened much earlier, when the crowd of Digimon dispersed the instant they saw me approaching the coast."

Shinsuke's eyes narrow at Shellmon's words. "No wonder they disappeared from my sight. What a bunch of cowards! You aren't even scary-looking at all." The quiver in his words, however, betrays his courage, though I'm the only one who detected it. Shellmon just continues to smile at us with immense gratitude, like being in front of him is enough to keep him happy for a long time. Of course, I feel quite bad for the poor Digimon, seeing him being ostracised by others just because he looks scary, but I'm sure that isn't the only reason. I can vaguely recall Gazimon ranting back in Data Forest about how dangerous he was, most of his words being lost in my mind. Didn't really paid much heed to his 'vent' as he placed it.

Gazimon. Right, how can I forget my initial problem with him?

"Shinsuke." My voice comes out as hoarse, almost unrecognisable to me. The boy turns to me. "Did Gazimon or Gaomon come back?"

He shakes his head at me. "I don't think so. If they did come back, we would have heard them call out for us." His statement draws out suspicions. I know it's been some time since Gazimon disappeared. But, if Gaomon had gone after him the moment Shinsuke discovered me, then I'm sure the two would have already met each other by now.

"It's weird," Shinsuke speaks, glancing at the sky. "The sun has already risen and is making its way up. Noting the fact that Gaomon left me around twilight to search for Gazimon, that means it's already been more than half an hour. Sure, they're both athletic Digimon, but I know for Gaomon that it could take about 20 minutes to sweep the whole beach in search for him. And if he did that, you and I would have certainly seen him at one point. But we didn't. That leaves us with two possibilities, either Gaomon and Gazimon have already met and, something's holding them back. Or they didn't meet up at the beach, but in the forest instead, so it's taking them some time to return here."

Once again, I stare at the boy with an open mouth, though not as surprised as earlier. I'm dubbing Shinsuke with the title of 'Junior Sherlock Holmes' because I am very sure I would never have reached his point of explanation at all. Shellmon shares his surprise too on his face, blinking his sapphire eyes with as much confusion as me.

"Um, if you are talking about those two Digimon, I happen to know where they went." Shellmon suggests, making it Shinsuke's turn to look surprised and for me to just drop my jaw.

"You kne- Ack!" The moment I shout, my throat burns with an intenser pain, as I cough out nothing. The boy rubs my back once more, though still keeping his focus on Shellmon.

"Where did you see them?"

"Well, I didn't see them together. I first saw the purple canine Digimon rush out from the magenta rocks from my resting place near the end of the beach." Shellmon tilts his head towards the right side. My eyes follow his direction and spot a hill of rocks making up a portion of the beach. It seems out-of-place, isolated from the rest of the sandy beach. As sad as it is, it's befitting Shellmon.

"That's where I tend to rest in. From there, I could see the canine Digimon go out to the forest, swiping through the bushes and creating his own entry inside. Sometime later, I see a blue canine Digimon this time, with a red headband, run past me. He wasn't in much of a hurry, unlike the previous one. That Digimon stood in front of the forest for a while, before going through the same entry. That's the last time I saw those two."

I slowly get off the ground, not feeling as dizzy as earlier. "We know where those two are, right? Let's go after them."

"Wait, don't." Shinsuke places a hand on my arm, gesturing me to sit back down. "I don't think we should go after them just yet."

"Why not?! If you're worried about it being dangerous then-"

The boy cuts me off with a stoic look, eyes narrowing onto my face. "It's not about it being dangerous! Just think about it for a few moments. Why do you think those two haven't returned from the forest? Gaomon can easily find him, judging from Shellmon's words. And those two are strong enough to fend off other Digimon and make an escape. Remember, this happened after your argument with Gazimon too."

My eyes flicker up to meet his stare. He isn't giving me much slack at all, but I know that he isn't nagging at me or scolding me. It's almost like he's steering me to understand this myself. Shinsuke is trying to hint me into the conclusion, rather than have him tell me. Well, of course...

Whose words would I believe the most other than my own?

The moment he gives me those clues and hints for me to work with, I could piece together the conclusion in my head bit by bit. Each piece fits with the other perfectly and forms a big picture, one that isn't beautiful or magnificent at all. It's an ugly truth. And it's something I have to say out if I want to convince myself not to go after those two. After a moment of silence, my mouth opens to bring that picture to words.

"Gaomon is comforting my partner because of our argument. And..." The second part isn't easy to say. It's almost as painful as saying he's the one who scratched me, the very thought pulling my words back down my throat and shutting them out. But I need to face it. No one is going to sugar-coat it for me at all, not even Shinsuke. Taking in another whiff of air, I exhale and say it out.

"And he's avoiding me."


	19. Solitary

Everything went silent. I don't know where it came from nor how it happened, but I do know that it came not after I admitted that last sentence. Shinsuke didn't have much to say after getting me to speak, so he stares at the ocean, albeit for a brief moment before switching to the sand. Shellmon just closes his eyes and goes into deep thoughts, leaving me to just be awkward alone. On any other occasion, the silence would have been appreciated, since it lets my thoughts swim around in my mind. It makes it easier to organise them when there isn't a distraction.

But, if I want to organise my thoughts, I would have to go through every single one of them, and I know most of them are negative. It's just going to lead me into self-bashing again, something which I just made a resolve to not do. If this silence draws on for any longer, then I'm going to take a handful of sand and eat it because I'm actually hungry and want some reaction from someone!

"Hey, are you hungry?" Shinsuke suddenly asks, just as I'm about to take a fistful of sand, stopping me mid-action. My head snaps towards him, a grin forming on my face. What a mind-reader! He's close to stealing that title from Gazimon.

"Very." I give a simple answer, allowing my tongue to roll out. The sand drops back in place from my hand, just as Shellmon re-opens his eyes back. Perfect, I've been wanting to ask this question for a while ever since it popped up a few minutes ago.

"Shellmon, I've been wondering." Said Digimon focuses its eyes on me, keeping a smile on its face. "What do you eat?"

Shellmon raises his head in a thinking manner, closing his eyes back to form his answer. "We don't really eat, since we don't get hungry or thirsty. But if we do eat... it's only other Digimon..."

"I-Isn't that cannibalism?!" Shinsuke suddenly perks up, a mixture of shock and terror washing over his face.

"Cannibalism?" Shellmon and I twist our heads in confusion.

"Sigh, really? Cannibalism means eating your own kind's flesh, or in this case, data." He explains with a bored tone, picking up a handful of sand and letting it slowly seep back down. "So if Digimon don't get hungry, then why do you eat other Digimon?"

His words pull back a memory from my head. The image of the corpses back in Kunemon's Bed flashes past my eyes, showing the scene of the Kunemon surrounding a dying Digimon and eating into its body. Remembering it just brings a shudder through me, my appetite nearly vanishing in an instant.

"It's... well... Like I said earlier, we don't really eat. We just kill other Digimon to absorb their data and help us digivolve to our stronger forms. Eating is just another way of absorbing data and keeping the bodies of the Digimon preserved..."

My stomach twists into a knot. I'm okay with the concept of killing but eating your own kind just to get power? That's just sick, disgusting even. If that's how Digimon digivolve, then does that mean that Shellmon had to have... eaten... Oh my.

"D-Does that m-mean you ate a-another Digimon?" I raise a shaky finger at him, only for the Digimon to flinch backwards violently, bringing him closer to the ocean.

"No, no!" Shellmon quickly places his hands up and shakes his head many times. "I never ate another Digimon! I... I did kill another though... with my school." He gives a sigh, then gestures us to come closer. Shinsuke hesitates at this, but when I went forward, he follows right behind me.

"I have never had the chance to tell another Digimon this story. Maybe because everyone scurried away from me before I could." He gives a small chuckle, easing our nerves a little. "This was some weeks ago when I wasn't even a Shellmon. I was once a rookie Digimon known as Gizamon, swimming in the seas freely as a school, and just surviving in the treacherous waters. Back then, this beach had a Shellmon. He was a tyranny, always had a desire to hunt down the inhabitants either for power or just for the thrill of it. Each day, I had to see my friends disappear from my sight one by one. Each night, I had to hear their cries. It was traumatising for many of us, some scarred forever even, just wondering when they will be the next one. Soon, my school had enough, and hatched a plan to finally kill Shellmon once and for all."

* * *

"Okay, guys! Shellmon is about to arrive soon, so are we all ready? Give me a yell if you are!" A particular Gizamon, already identified as the leader of the school, shouted to the rest of his kind. The school of Gizamon returned with a war cry of their own, confidence and determination succinct in their voices. "Yeah!"

The school was afloat on the wavy waters, a long distance away from Shellmon's beach. This long stretch was to be their battlefield, one that would determine if the aquatic Digimon would sink or swim. Literally. Every one of them harboured a grudge against the tyrannical ruler Shellmon, and they were willing to lay their lives down for his death. Even if it meant that they wouldn't be able to reform back to their egg forms, they still faced the beach with an iron-clad will. Not even the sight of Shellmon rushing towards them with the most maniacal expression flinched them.

"Gizaaamon! It's been so long since I had one. I almost forgot how your data feels like in me!" Shellmon cooed from a distance. The moment the pink shell monster drew near, the leader of the Gizamon initiated with a charge to the front, and the school followed him.

"Aqua Blaster!" Right off the bat, Shellmon shoots out a pressurised liquid, slicing the ocean in half momentarily. Many of the Gizamon swam to the side immediately, some get slammed by the attack, reverting them to white particles almost instantly. The fallen ones' data flew to the leader.

"Damn it!" He cried out, looking over at the diminished numbers. "Shellmon, you're going to pay! Water Shot!"

The school adhered to his command, sucking in the air and spitting out a stream of water. It paled in comparison to the pressurised one in terms of speed and power, where even Shellmon had soon realised it. He simply stopped in place and allowed the 'attack' to hit him. The water drips down his face and body, as he gave out a burst of mocking laughter. "Hahahaha, pathetic! This is the extent of your power?! It feels like a shower!"

Shellmon looked at the school with a smirk expression. However, it fell short when a shadow formed in the waters in front of him. Emerging from the depths of the ocean was the leader of the school, rolled into a spiky ball. He smacks straight into Shellmon's chin, the Digimon reeling away from the impact. As soon as he took his eyes off, the noise of splashing water started ringing in his head, the sources coming closer and closer. At once, he felt a multitude of the same pain springing up from everywhere, each Gizamon launching themselves at the enemy.

However, they didn't give up the momentum at all, launching two combined 'Water Shot' attacks at each of Shellmon's eyes.

"Arrgh! My eyes!" For the first time, Shellmon had cried out in pain, thrashing his body against the waters and sweeping away some of the surrounding Gizamon. Though the impact was not enough to kill them off. He retreated away from the school for recovery, still rocking the waters and disallowing any of the Gizamon to make any further moves.

"Be on high alert! He might retaliate soon!" The leader issued a warning, turning his back to Shellmon to face his school. The rest of them nodded and focused on the enemy at the front, not even allowing a blink through.

"Hehe..." Shellmon giggles at a low tone. "Hahahahaha! Ahahahaha!" He bursts into another laughter fit, more long-drawn and crazier than before. The leader snarls at him, keeping his glare on the laughing shell monster.

"What's so funny?" He swipes at the water.

"Hahaha! I'm just laughing at the fact..." Shellmon straightens his body on the water, his expression changing from easygoing to serious. "... You Digimon really think that you have a chance against me." Without a call for an attack, Shellmon slammed down his hands down on the water, creating a tidal wave to the front. It swept up almost all of the Gizamon into the air, except for the leader, leaving them vulnerable. Then, Shellmon released the 'Aqua Blaster' move at the school of Gizamon. It slammed straight into them, a chorus of cries following instantly afterwards before absolute silence rolled in. The water fell back down and revealed nothing but white particles in the atmosphere.

The leader of the Gizamon stared, horrified at what a single attack had managed to do to his school. As the white particles flew towards the lone Gizamon, a familiar fear had taken ahold of him. The dread of death had finally crossed his mind. And he could only swim at a still spot.

"Hey." Gizamon shuddered when he heard Shellmon's voice once more. He no longer held the courage or determination he had once grasped before when Shellmon swam in front of him. He couldn't even see Shellmon anymore. All he could see was a monster with sapphire eyes, staring down at him with malice and greed.

But, that sight brought him to his natural instincts, for the fear was driving him crazy. He had lost his support, and was all alone, like a cat cornering a mouse to the wall. And like that mouse, he did the one thing he could do. Gizamon immediately attacked back in a flurry. With his eyes shut, he leapt at Shellmon, fully expecting to feel any ounce of pain as he desperately fought back. In his mind, there was no heroism behind this act, only fear for his safety. He didn't even think about how Shellmon killed his friends, he only thought about how Shellmon killed other Digimon and, he could be his next victim.

But nothing happened. Gizamon didn't even feel a single pain, other than hearing his own desperate cries and hasty breathing. He couldn't even hear Shellmon's cries or laughter either, just pure silence around him. His mind snapped him back to normal, and he finally opened his eyes, only to realise he was alone. Not only that, but he felt different as well like, he had a heavier weight on his back and sharper vision. It also seemed that the ocean level was decreasing, as it looked lower than before.

Gizamon felt confused for a few moments, but relief soon washed it away, for Shellmon had actually spared him. Then, guilt joined in to show that all of his allies had fallen, and he was the only one to be alive. But, he quickly managed to convince himself that he would live on for them; to be the last remaining Gizamon in Shellmon's Beach. He would take pride in his victory and bring it back to the beach.

So he swam, albeit slower than before, but he chalked it to being tired from the fight. There were some Digimon on the beach, playing around with the sand. Despite their games, they still held wary expressions. Oh, how Gizamon would have loved to see it all go away. For all the tensions to disappear once and for all, and have all of them live a peaceful life. No sooner did he step onto the beach when a Digimon looked straight at him and shouted, "Shellmon's back! Run!"

In his panic, he turned around, expecting to be face-to-face with his enemy. But, Gizamon didn't see anyone at all. Only the ocean stared back at him with his reflection.

A reflection of Shellmon. The same pink shell monster whom he had just been fighting earlier. The leader freaked out and tried to swipe at the water with his limbs, but he noticed how big and pinkish they were. As he raised this limb, the reflection did the same. When he blinked his eyes, the Shellmon in the water mimicked him.

"... I am Shellmon?" The leader asked himself disbelievingly, staring at the waters, then switching his sights to the beach. The remaining Digimon were quivering, holding onto each other as tightly as they could. Their eyes were closed shut as if to avoid looking at Shellmon.

"H-Hey!" He tried calling out to them, only for them to move further away from the waters.

"Spare us! I don't want to die!" One of the Digimon shouted back. Shellmon froze in place, horrified and hurt. The once friendly gazes he received here had already disappeared, only leaving him with terror-filled expressions. None of them wanted to look him in the eyes anymore and fled whenever he drew near.

Shellmon had realised that this was now his life. But, he was resolved to never, ever act like how the previous ruler did, and just live the life of solitude. Even if the inhabitants of the beach detested or hated him, Shellmon knew that his school would have still loved him, if they were still alive. It's this hope that keeps Shellmon's sanity in check.


	20. Resolvation

"And that's how I ended up in this situation. My fight with Shellmon ended up giving me enough data to digivolve into him." The pink shell Digimon finishes his story, sinking back into the sand. I had no words to say, only left with some conflicting feelings. I didn't know who to blame or what to lash out, to just release these swirling emotions of anger and pity. Neither did words of comfort come to mind.

I idly sit on the sand, looking back at the Shell Digimon with sorrowful eyes. "That's just cruel... How can they just behave like that to you?" Some words manage to form and seep out of me, taking the Digimon's attention towards me. His shimmering sapphire eyes glance at me.

"You can't really blame them... He was a tyrant, terror of the beach. Many Digimon paired Shellmon and Flymon as merciless rulers of Data Forest and Shellmon's Beach." Shellmon replied, still keeping a grief-stricken look. From how Flymon acts, I guess she could be evil and terrible, but she still cared about her children. This tyrant Shellmon character doesn't even show a sense of care or remorse for any of the Digimon here.

"Their sense of fear may be right, but it doesn't justify their premature thinking of you! Have none of them ever thought about how you never once decided to kill them?" Shinsuke speaks up with his complicated words and punchable formal tone. He sits a distance away from me on the sand, his chin resting on his hand. Curious turquoise eyes stare at Shellmon, almost sparkling.

"W-Well... They all believed I'm 'hatching up an evil scheme'. No matter how friendly I act or how much isolation I give myself, no Digimon ever lowered their guard. I can't blame them for it either... It's just the way of life now. Shellmon is now a species of a Digimon to be forever wary of." He ends off, looking away from us and towards the rest of the beach. Among the glistening brown crystals, no other Digimon seems to be present, except for a few exceptions. Gomamon is there, along with Crabmon and Geckomon, peeking at our direction from the cover of the magenta rocks. I couldn't catch their looks, their faces only being just the colour of their bodies, from my location.

"But..." He turns back to us, "At least, I managed to tell my tale to two humans." and a smile graces his face. The anger and pity disappear instantly upon hearing his words, relief and happiness taking their place instead. A smile of my own creeps up to my face. "Well, it's the least we could do. You helped us a lot, after all."

"I agree. I can't even see how just listening to your tale is enough repayment for what you've done for us." Shinsuke adds in.

"I-It means a lot!" Shellmon perks up, before sinking back down after he realises his volume. "I mean... It means a lot that you two listened. I was finally able to talk to a living creature, rather than the rocks or the ocean. This burden of mine... I could finally share it with someone else." He clenches his arm into a fist, staring down at it.

Sharing your troubles with someone else, huh. Well, I guess it felt kind of nice, telling my problems to Shinsuke, even if his advice doesn't make sense to me. It was relieving, knowing that you aren't the only one who knows this now.

"So, what will you two do now?" The Digimon asks, taking me away from my thoughts. "You aren't going to stick around the beach forever, are you?"

Good question, I didn't think that far ahead. I want to suggest to just wait till our partners returned, but I don't even know when they'll return. Thankfully for me, Shinsuke comes up with an answer in the form of, "We're going to go get our partners."

"Wait, what?! Didn't you say that we should just wait till they come back?" I remark, surprised at his answer.

"No, I said we shouldn't go after them _yet._ I thought Gazimon and Gaomon would still need some more time to resolve their issues and conflicts, so I saw it fit to go after them later." He answers back with another round of confusing statements. His words swirl around in my head, as I try to understand the boy's intentions. One second, he's telling me not to go after them, the next second, he's saying we should. Nope, this has nothing to do with me being dumb. It's just that he's too smart for anyone else to know what he's thinking.

"I don't get this, but alright." I say in defeat, getting off the sand with the boy. "We'll come back soon, Shellmon."

The Shell Digimon nods, maintaining the smile on its face.

"Take care of yourself. Don't let the Digimon around here get to you." Shinsuke says, putting his hand through his hair. His turquoise eyes dart towards the magenta rocks, where those three Digimon were hiding at. Oh, I guess he noticed them too.

"Of course, I won't. You two be careful as well."

With those words hanging in my mind, the two of us part away from Shellmon and head towards Data Forest.

* * *

"So, this is where they entered?"

"Yes. The bushes here look the most disturbed."

Shinsuke and I had walked through the beach, passing by some of the aquatic Digimon without much eye-contact. I didn't want to see their faces, knowing what they did to Shellmon, and even me. But, at the same time, I couldn't stay mad at them for too long. Sure, they isolated him out of fear, but as he said, their fear had been with them for a long time. I bet it's because they didn't know the tyrant is dead, that they're treating Shellmon like this.

We reached the bushes area in silence and without much trouble since no Digimon came up to us. It wasn't hard to find Gazimon's manmade entrance, as the two of us spotted several slash marks on certain bushes. When we confirmed that this was their entrance, the two of us entered the forest again with a hesitant start.

The path wasn't as dark as I thought, since I could actually see what's in front of me. Fallen branches and leaves laid in our way, as with some claw marks.

"Gazimon really did a number here." Shinsuke mutters, looking at more of the dead branches. "I guess he was too worked up to even properly navigate through the forest."

Guilt starts choking at me slowly.

"I guess-"

"But then again, that purple canine Digimon seems to have always had that fiery personality anyway." The boy interrupts me. A worried expression takes over his face, concerned turquoise eyes staring at me once more. Sigh... he keeps directing that look at me for some reason.

"What are you worried about?" I ask bluntly, taking the boy off guard.

"How'd you-... Ahem." He tries to cover his surprise from me, but I had already seen it. I chuckle at his attempt.

"Haha, funny. Anyway... Have you thought about what you're going to say to Gazimon?"

Now it is Shinsuke's turn to catch me off-guard.

"Ah, well, I didn't really think about it..." I answer, surprised at myself. Throughout my whole session of insulting myself and pitying Gazimon, I don't think I've once decided what to say to him. Oh great, it's going to be awkward when we meet.

The boy sighs. "Of course. Well, the path seems to be long, so you still have time to think about it."

"Ah, o-okay." I croak out an answer to him, before looking ahead of us. The path stretches out, more leaves and broken dead branches laying sadly on the dirt ground. I guess the boy's words ring true, there's still time before we come face-to-face with them.

I think back to my time at the magenta rocks, recalling my time there with Gazimon and my thoughts when I was left alone. My throat felt like it was closing when I went through the memories and experience, leaving me nearly breathless for a few seconds. All of that self-loathing, it was so painful to think about clearly right now, I'm amazed I even said half of it to Shinsuke. Those events repeated in my head, over and over, until I grasp the words I want to tell him.

* * *

_"Look, just drop it already! I don't want to talk about it further! It's nothing I want to openly say to you!"_

_"And why not? What is it that you aren't telling me, Gazimon?!"_

_"It's none of your business, human! Just leave me alone!"_

* * *

I stop in my tracks. Does Gazimon even want to see me right now? I mean, if he really wanted to see me again, he would have come back after all this time. But, he didn't. Instead, we're out here in the forest looking for them, doing the exact opposite of what he wants me to do. Yeah, maybe I should just go back and leave him alone for a while longer...

Before I could turn back, Shinsuke grabs onto my arm, gripping onto it. "Where do you think you're going?" He questions, narrowing his gaze at me.

"B-Back to Shellmon's beach. I-I think Gazimon might want to have more time alone..." My answer comes out it croaks once more, my throat closing up even further. I try to move my arm, but the boy continues to holds onto it, marching up to my face. He yanks me closer to him, nearly pulling my arm out until we weren't even centimetres apart anymore.

"First off, Gazimon isn't alone, he's with Gaomon right now. Second, if you continue to run away instead of facing your problems, it's just going to get worse over time. I know you're scared of confronting your partner, but we aren't in a situation where we can idly stand-by and waste time."

"B-But-" He cuts me off again with another yank.

"Don't you need to rescue Kiyo?!" My eyes widen at his words. "Are you just going to stand around, acting like a coward while the Digimon does god-knows-what to her? You know as well as I do that you can't rescue your sister without the help of our partners! Think about this!"

... He's right, what was I thinking? This isn't the time where I should be hesitant. Every minute I waste pondering over my feelings, Kiyo could be in deeper trouble. Even if it's for a while, I should put aside my worries and just get this over with, free myself the anxiety. As I think these thoughts, my throat opens up again and, I could finally breathe.

"T-thanks, Shinsuke." I sheepishly say, staring at the stoic boy. "Without you, I think I would have hightailed out of here like Kokatorimon!"

"Koka- what? What Digimon is that?" He responds the same way I did when I first heard Gazimon said it.

"Haha, it's nothing." I chuckle, just as the boy loosens his grip on me. He looks at me with a questioning expression before it melts into a small smile.

"Well, if you're feeling more ready, then let's hurry up and get through this path." He says, turning his back to me and walking ahead.

"Yeah, sure!"

His words manage to clear some of my worries, as I walk with more confidence. I finally figured out what I wanted to say to Gazimon, though it's quite simple. I'm not even sure if it's enough for him to forgive me, but hey, at least I tried. I want to bury all of this and finally focus on my task; to just be free from these troubles and problems. I'm not going to let them drown me again.

"Hey, I think I see a clearing." Up ahead, my eyes spot an open area, sheltered by the trees, but still had light shining down on it. Two silhouettes were in the area, small, animal-like and familiar body shapes crouched on the grass. Ah, that must be...

"Yup, that's definitely Gazimon and Gaomon." Shinsuke blurts my thoughts out, continuing to walk towards it with little hesitation. I know I'm the one dealing with my problem, but how is he able to stay so calm?

No, no, this is not the time to get 'cold feet', Keita! Don't let your legs get frozen to the grass! Slightly hesitant, I manage to pull myself together and push my legs towards the opening. Luckily for me, Shinsuke was in front of me, so I could hide behind him. The nearer we got, the quicker my heart was beating, until I nearly wanted to hold the boy by his shoulders and let him pull me there.

"Shinsuke?!" I nearly wince when I hear Gaomon's voice. "What are you two doing here?"

"Obviously, we came after you two. Didn't you realise that nearly 2 hours had passed already? Sheesh, I know you guys need your alone time, but that doesn't mean you take 2 whole hours!" The boy starts to nag. Good, good, continue scolding them. Maybe then, I wouldn't have to talk-

"Also," Shinsuke immediately grabs me by my hand and pulls me forward. "it's time they finally resolve their argument."

The sight of the opening finally hits my eyes. The two Digimon were right in front of me, with Gaomon sitting on the grass on his knees, placing a gloved hand on Gazimon, who had his back to us. Said Digimon didn't face us, even after Shinsuke spoke.

"Urk... maybe I-"

"Come on, Gaomon, give them some alone time." The boy interrupts me once more, grabbing his partner by the arm, rather gently, and pulling him to his feet. Though the blue canine Digimon looked hesitant, he complied with Shinsuke's words, following the boy back through the path. Gaomon spares us a look, before the two of them disappear out of sights, and left Gazimon and me alone.

I look back at Gazimon, who seemed to have crawled further away from me and gone into a sitting position. His tail was flat on the ground, and he held his knees to his face, much like how I was back at the magenta rocks.

Come on, Keita! Remember who you're doing this for. I have to clear things between us, for mine, Gazimon's and especially Kiyo's sake. I can't run away anymore.

I step into the clearing, edging nearer to Gazimon. Sitting behind him, I cross my legs and stare at his back, which was still coated with past injuries. He didn't react to me at all.

Sigh, Gazimon, you aren't making this any easier for me at all.

Taking a deep breath, I recall the words I wanted to say to him. Though simple, I hope they're at least enough to get him to talk to me.

"Gazimon, I'm sorry."

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading Digimon Revenge. If you like it, you can show your support by leaving a kudo! And if you have any issues or want to leave a compliment, you can comment as well!


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